Arrangements
by Today4YouTomorow4Me
Summary: As a pureblood child your marriage is arranged. It screws up your dreams and it screws up your life, but sometimes it may just work out. For a thespian witch and a cocky Malfoy wizard, life is about to change. All because of stupid Arrangements.
1. Chapter 1

The pain seared through my head, just like it always did after spending an excess amount of time with my pureblood maniac of a mother. She prattled on and on about how I must find a husband before the year is out. "16 is a prime time to snag a man" she says; but I tune her out, like always. I let my mind drift as she goes on and on about the importance of marriage as we walk through my favorite dance store in muggle London. Anyone could see how disgusted she was with the place, and it amused me greatly. "What about these?" I smiled holding up a pair of tan character shoes that were on the shelf, hoping to get her off her marriage kick, and it worked, kind of. She abruptly started talking about my schooling, in America.

Ever since I was a kid I've been an amazing performer. My parents, although over bearing and insane, knew that Hogwarts was not going to be the school for me. So they took matters into their own hands by sending letters to the headmaster at my school, PASOM (performing arts school of magic, for those of you out of the know), or possum as we students so lovingly call it. When it came time to except students I was at the top of the list and my parents accepted the invitation to attend immediately. The only down side about this school is that it is run by a bunch of "muggle lovers" as my parents so lovingly put it, and it's given me some different views that the parentals don't agree with.

Mother and I finally get tired of looking at all of the dance items, or school supplies and we walk to the pub just down the street. "You know Gwendolyn," She says "This is your last year of schooling, and I really wish that you would have some sort of future waiting for you when you graduate."

I heave a sigh, this isn't the first time we've had this conversation, "I do mother." I reply "In New York! Brian and I are going to rent an apartment in the city and become Broadway performers. We've got everything planned out."

"That's not what I meant Gwendolyn and you know it. I meant a husband who is waiting for you to marry him."

"Why do I have to even get married?"

"What kind of a question is that? You must get married, your father and I aren't as young as we used to be and I want grandchildren in my home before I die." I roll my eyes, which doesn't go unnoticed, at her insufferable nagging "Now don't you make that face at me young lady. Your father has a friend coming over for dinner this evening that has a son in his final year at Hogwarts. I want you dressed nicely, washed and presentable, by six o'clock to greet our guests." Her tone didn't leave much room for argument so I just nodded my head and responded with a simple:

"Yes ma'am" she smiled and walked into the warm wizarding pub next door to floo home. I followed closely behind as she snaked her way through the many tables and stepped into the fire place.

"Hasting Manor" She shouted throwing down some floo powder and vanishing.

_Tonight couldn't be over fast enough._

I was this close to driving my head through the wall as my mother continued to list the reasons for tonight to be perfect as we walked through Diagon Alley after lunch.

"She's gorgeous Draco; she's a singer, a dancer and an actress. She goes to some performing school in America, but we must make sure she at least likes you this evening. Oh I'm so excited! I can hear the wedding bells now." My mother continued to list off what would happen at our wedding as we made our way into Madame Malkin's.

"Mother, don't you think it best that I meet her before you plan our wedding?" I interjected as she listed off the music we would play at the reception.

"Of course dear. Oh, but I just know that you'll love her."

"Have you met her?" I asked

"When she was much younger. But Genevieve has told me so much about her; she would be the best daughter in law. Your father is drawing up a contract now, so you'll be engaged before the night is out!" She twittered.

"I'll what?" I asked astonished.

"Be engaged of course. What did you think tonight was for, idle chatter?" She laughed beautifully "of course not Draco. Tonight is for business. I'm not as young as I once was and I want grandchildren to spoil before I die. So no funny business; tonight will go smoothly, understood?"

"Yes mother" I answered know that there was no way out of this dreadful arrangement.

She smiled as I opened the door to the clothing shop for her and walked inside.

Tonight would be dreadful, that much I knew. Being pureblood I'd always known that my parents would choose my bride, but I guess I always thought it would be to someone I knew. I shrugged off the worries, knowing I would do the right thing in the end. As a pureblood it was my duty to marry whomever my parents chose, even if it was to someone I had never met before.

Checking my watch I noticed the time and bid my mother goodbye. As I strolled through the streets towards the nearest apparation point I noticed the happy couples on the streets. A part of me hoped that I would someday feel the same way, but another part of me sneered in disgust and I turned away from their public displays of affection.

_Tonight couldn't be over fast enough._

I looked into the mirror at the horrendous dress and felt my head ache returning. It was awful. Pink crinoline and ruffles, it was probably the worst dress ever made. It didn't stop me from taking a picture on my cell phone and sending it to Brian, my best friend.

_The dress from hell. Any EARTHLY ideas on how to fix this?_ I texted him

As I waited to the little device to ping I couldn't help but think about this mystery man coming over. The only thing I knew for sure about him was that he was a Malfoy. Our mothers have been friends since Hogwarts, but the only time I met him was when I was seven and my mother was hosting a party downstairs. All I can remember is that he was asleep the whole time. The cell phone pinged and I jumped onto the bed to see what Brian had sent back.

_Why not just buy a new dress…that way no one will ever have to see this one and we have something to burn when I come over next week. _He replied.

_Brilliant. But I'm having dinner with my future fiancé tonight so no time to buy a new one! Any OTHER ideas?_

Waiting for his reply was torture but after two minutes the phone pinged again.

_Why not wear the Maria dress you wore for west side. It's perfect, and if you exchange the red ribbon for a black belt and stilettos you look smoking. _He texted.

_You are BRILLIANT! Where would I be without you?_ I praised.

_Lonely and terribly dressed. XD_ I read while laughing.

_Har har har. Now what about hair? _I asked

_Wear it down and straight like you did for Hair, but keep your clothes on slut. ;) _He joked

_I shall try my very, very best. Thanks for the help, this guy better be gorgeous. _I sent as I went to the bathroom to fix my hair.

_Let me know if he has a friend. I'm always in need of a little loving'. _

_God your hormones are going to kill you one of these days! _I texted back just as I put the finishing touches on my hair and makeup.

_One can only hope!_

_What do you think?_ I sent him along with a picture of his new creation.

_Perfect, gorgeous as always, _he praised.

_Thanks babe! Go to go meet the in-laws. Kill me now._

_BANG! Have fun. TTYL_

_Thanks! I'll text you when they're gone! _

_Love you! _He sent as a farewell.

I placed my cell phone back on to my bedside table and gave myself another once over before heading downstairs.

Our manor was beautiful. The grand hall was decked out with candles and summer flowers to welcome the Malfoy family and the great mahogany French doors stood at the entrance of our home like a dark omen.

I was dreading this dinner, thinking that if I pretended it wasn't going to happen it wouldn't. My mother gave me a once over and smiled, even though I didn't wear the dress she'd chosen I think she enjoyed my pick, or Brian's.

"Beautiful Gwendolyn, as always" My father praised pressing a quick peck to my cheek when I reached the bottom stair.

"Thank you, father." I smiled under his praise, something I didn't receive often but enjoyed when it was given.

"The Malfoys will be here any moment. The elves are done with dinner, everyone's dressed, and I think that's everything" my mother said to herself as she went through her mental check list.

"Everything will be perfect mother, just like it always is." I said as I pecked her on the cheek.

"It will be if you can be polite Gwendolyn. I don't want to have to remind you of your manners this evening. You look stunning, but remember first impressions are everything." She may have wanted to go on, but we may never know that, for just as she was about to continue there was a pop just outside the door. "That'll be them." She squealed.

"Yay." I said with a voice laden with sarcasm.

"Manners, Gwendolyn." She replied giving me the standard 'don't push me' look as she opened the doors.

_Where's a lightning bolt when you need one?_

The tie was choking me to death and I was tempted to loosen it until my mother walked in. "Oh Draco, darling, you look dashing"

"Thank you mother, you look lovely tonight." I replied, trying to hold back my irritation with her.

"I know dear. Now remember be polite this evening. I do **not** want a repeat of dinner with the Parkinson's last year." I laughed quietly to myself at the memory.

_We were sitting in the parlor after dinner, both families, chatting and drinking when all of a sudden Pansy grabbed my arm and whispered into my ear. 'Isn't this great Drakie? Everyone's getting along and soon we'll be married'._

'_I highly doubt that' I replied attempting to loosen her birdlike grip on my arm._

'_Just picture it, Drakie-poo. You and me with a little one running around being chased by the elves. Isn't it beautiful?'_

_I was disgusted and angered by her statement so I shook the irritating witch off of me saying 'get off of me! The day I marry you is the day that Dumbledore lays the moves on McGonagall.' I jumped up and looked at my father 'I've never asked you for anything father, so please, please allow me to marry someone else; I beg you.'_

I apparated home that night and got wasted with my best friend Blaise; it wasn't one of my finer moments.

"Don't you smirk like that Draco Malfoy. If you pull another stunt like that tonight we'll be lucky to find you a half decent bride." My mother chastised.

"I won't pull another stunt like that one." I said and she fixed me with another pointed look "I promise."

"Fine. Are you ready?" She asked.

"I suppose." I answered.

"Where is your father? Lucius!" She called. "We need to leave. I told Genevieve that we would be outside at eight, and it's already five after."

"Here I am, dear." My father said as he appeared at the top of the stairs. "Sorry, the lawyers and I just finished up drafting the contract."

"Yay." I said, my voice laden with sarcasm.

"You will be polite and respectful, do you understand me young man?" My mother threatened.

"Yes, mother." I smirked holding out my arm "Shall we go?"

"We shall. I'll apparate us both. Lucius, meet us there." She replied taking my arm and ignoring my sarcasm.

I felt the familiar tugging sensation at my navel and held tightly to my mother's arm.

_Where's a lightning bolt when you need one?_

_He's not awful, _was my first thought. _I think he just checked me out_ was my second.

The squealing coming from our mothers was enough to shake me from my thoughts and turn my attention towards them.

"Oh Narcissa! You look stunning as always! Oh gosh! You probably don't even remember Gwendolyn!" She gushed.

"As do you Genevieve! You're a lucky man Oliver!" Narcissa smiled back at my father making me roll my eyes to myself. Women gushing drove me crazy. "Remember Gwendolyn? How could I forget? She used to put on such lovely performances for us when we had tea all those years ago. But I doubt you'll even recognize Draco. He's grown so much! Draco, come introduce yourself again."

"Hello Mrs. Hasting, thank you so much for the invitation to dinner." He said smoothly, not quite smiling but doing more of a smirk thing.

"Oh my goodness, how you have grown. Oliver, do you recognize him at all?" My mother gushed.

"Just barely love." My father replied as he looked up from his side bar with Mr. Malfoy.

I was feeling blissfully forgotten until I heard my name brought into the conversation. "Now where is Gwendolyn?" My mother said looking around. It was amazing how I could turn invisible in almost an instant when another child was around.

"I'm here mother." I replied stepping up next to her and holding my hand out to the new comers "Hello Mrs. Malfoy thank you so much for coming this evening, we're so glad you could make it."

"Such lovely manners. Now I'm sure you don't remember me at all but you used to love performing for me and Lucius when you were much younger." Mrs. Malfoy prattled on.

"I'm sorry, I don't" I replied, ever the woman of few words.

"Well then you surely won't remember my son Draco." She smiled bringing her son into the conversation.

"Draco Malfoy." the boy drawled, throwing me another half smile face.

"Gwendolyn Hasting." I said, internally rolling my eyes, this guy was way too into himself. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"The pleasure is all mine." He replied, taking my outstretched hand and kissing it.

"I'm sure." I smiled, forcing myself not to gag at his display. I already didn't like him.

"My mother tells me you are quite the performer."

"Do you listen to everything your mommy tells you, Draco?" I asked mockingly.

"Only in regards to beautiful women, Gwendolyn." He replied. Man, this guy would not give up.

"Do you hit on every girl you meet?" I asked again.

"Only when we are to be engaged." He smirked back.

"Fair enough." I nodded, quickly losing interest in this little game of cat and mouse.

"Would you care for some fresh air?" He asked abruptly.

I was about to refuse but my mother fixed me with a look that dared me to so, so I accepted saying, "that sounds lovely. Mother Draco and I are going out for a moment; I hope that's all right."

"Of course dear, I'll have Kipper come and get you when we are ready to eat." She smiled giving me a wink.

_Someone kill me now. I'm begging._

As we walked toward a small creek on her parent's property, I couldn't help but check out the woman next to me. She was beautiful, that was quite obvious. She was stubborn, I could already tell. She hated this more than me, and it made me curious.

"So, what do you like to do for fun?" I asked smirking.

"Not you." She replied, picking up her pace.

"Good." I said, irritated with her display.

This woman was trying to shake me and I knew it. The quickening of her pace coupled with her irritation made me weary of her, but not weary enough to back off. Something about her made me want to see her snap.

"Do you have a boyfriend?" I asked cockily.

"I'm a lesbian." She lied.

"I could be into that." I smirked.

"Go away."

"Make me.

"Maybe I will."

"Feel free."

Then she snapped. From a pocket in her dress that I hadn't seen, she pulled out a wand and pointed it at my chest waving it in silence. Then I felt my feet slipping backwards and the ground coming closer and closer to me. It wasn't the ground I connected with in the end, it was the creek.

"Why you little-"I started, but she cut me off.

"You said I could." She smiled innocently.

Then I felt it, a biting at my bum, and I looked down.

There, attached to my trousers was a snapping turtle, nipping away at my backside. I did the only thing a person could do in the situation. I jumped up, swatting at the thing to let go of my pants but it wouldn't.

"Get it off!" I shouted at the witch in front of me.

"Not unless you promise to be less of a jerk." She shouted back.

"Fine, just get it off." I said, still swatting.

"Fine, snappy let go!" She said to the thing, and it listened.

"It's your pet?" I asked.

"Well, duh. What else would it be?" She asked.

"A carnivorous beast!" I answered, choosing to ignore the high pitch of my voice.

"It's just a turtle. Don't pretend that you wouldn't try to hurt someone if they entered your home uninvited." She said but I could see the double meaning in her words.

"Good thing I was invited then." I replied standing up and attempting to dust myself off.

"Yet you're still unwanted." She hissed.

"Only by you. It seems to me that your mother is all but in love." I drawled, attempting to regain some of my dignity.

"Then why not marry her."

"Someone already beat me to it." I smirked, and then we heard a pop and an elf appeared in front of us.

"Dinner missus." The thing said, bowing deeply.

"Thanks Kipper. Tell mother, we're on our way." She smiled at the creature.

"Yes, missus." It said and popped away.

"Why are you so nice to that thing?" I asked in disgust.

"That _thing_ practically raised me, why would I be mean to her?" She replied.

"It's a creature meant to serve you, not be your best friend!" I said with disdain.

"You have no heart, Draco Malfoy." She observed.

"Thanks, luv." I said winking.

"Go to hell." She muttered.

"Why? So you can meet me there in a few years?" I replied.

"I don't want to marry you."

"Trust me, you're not exactly my first pick either."

"Go die."

"And give you the pleasure?"

"Pretty please?" She begged feigning innocence.

I stormed off.

_Someone kill me now. I'm begging_

Draco Malfoy is a prick. He was rude and disrespectful and practically asking to be bitten by Snappy. I'm not sorry. Walking back to the house with him was a pain, he was pouting and I was choosing to ignore him. We continued toward the house until I noticed his soaking clothes.

"Stop." I said to him, causing t=him to turn around.

"What?" He spat back.

"You're soaked; my mother will murder me if she finds out about what happened." I said pulling out my wand again and silently casting a drying spell on him.

"What makes you think that I won't tell them all about this little incident?" He asked.

"You really want to tell your mother that you were being a total arse hole and made me push you into the creek?" I answered with another question.

"I guess you're right." He muttered.

"I know." I said back.

This guy was infuriating. Putting up with him was going to be hell, I could already tell.

As we walked into the house we could see that the family had already gone to the dining room and I led us there. We walked in to the formal dining room and I was embarrassed by the sight. My mother, attempting to show off, had decorated the place for the summer season. It smelled like a flower shop, with the scent of dinner mixed in. At the head of the dining table, that could easily seat 100 people, sat our families. And it was just my luck that there were two set places right next to each other obviously meant for Draco and me. Great.

"How was your walk dear?" My mother asked as Draco pulled out my chair for me. Her voice was heavy with innuendo and I could tell she was dying to know what had happened outside.

"It was nice." I replied not actually giving her the answer that she had wanted.

"Now, Gwendolyn, your mother was just telling us about your schooling, where is it that you go?" Narcissa asked from across the table as she began eating her green salad.

"I go to the Performing Arts School of Magic." I replied "it's in New York City."

"That sounds wonderful dear. I've never been to America!" She smiled.

"It's lovely there." I said.

"Is this school exclusive?" Lucius asked.

"Very." I replied. "They only let in the most talented witches and wizards. In my year there are only twenty students, and we each have different study focuses."

This seemed to satisfy him, and he went back to his salad. "What is your focus?" Narcissa asked.

"Musical theatre." I replied "I want, so badly, to become a Broadway performer. It's what we've been trained to do."

"How does the magic come in?" Narcissa asked.

"Well, after our fifth year we are done learning about magic. That's why we start school at age ten. Sometimes people continue to learn magic, but most don't. We learn practical uses for it, but mostly we rely on muggle ways of living. Sometimes we have newly discovered talents come to the school. They're behind everyone but they always graduate and go on to do great things. Though I only know of one, she's in my year."

"Fascinating." Narcissa smiled.

_Maybe life wasn't going to totally suck._

This woman was frustrating and fascinating, hideous and beautiful, witty and stubborn, and I couldn't stand the fact that she had just put me in my place.

I couldn't help but dwell on the future; I would go insane living with this woman. She was just like my mother, minus the pureblood mania. Gwendolyn Hasting was a muggle lover, or as close to one as she could get. I needed to talk to someone and was instantly grateful that Blaise had invited me to Diagon Alley for drinks the next evening. Sometimes all a man needs is his best friend, and alcohol…lots of alcohol.

She and mother went on and on about her schooling, it was enough to make anyone sick.

"Well what about you, Draco? How is your schooling?" Genevieve asked from across the table.

"It's lovely. I'm in my seventh year at Hogwarts, a prefect, and in the running for head boy or quidditch captain." I drawled, listing off my accomplishments.

"Draco was top of his house last year." My mother smiled.

"My, isn't that impressive, and what house is that?" Genevieve asked again.

"Slytherin."

"I was a Slytherin once, oh but that was so long ago. Do you have any plans after school?" She asked again.

"I'll take over the family business." I smiled.

"Oh, how exciting!" the woman gushed.

"Gwendolyn you must come to Draco's graduation. I know he would enjoy it." My mother said, not knowing how much it would irritate me.

"Please, Mrs. Malfoy, call me Gwen everyone does!" Gwendolyn said.

"Only if you call me Narcissa!" My mother replied.

The two women laughed and continued chatting. If my mother likes the girl so much, then maybe I could learn to as well.

_Maybe life wasn't going to totally suck_

_This night will never end. _I thought to myself as we all sat in the parlor after dinner drinking tea, I would have preferred coffee but whatever. Draco was certainly charming my mother and Narcissa was chatting to me endlessly on wedding details. Things I never would have cared about before but were obviously the most important thing in the world at this moment.

"Now for flowers I thought roses, white and red. What do you think dear?"

"Well I'm allergic to Roses, Narcissa." I answered grudgingly seeing her face fall. "My favorite flowers are daisies. How about those?"

"Allergic to roses? That must be dreadful dear." She gushed pityingly. "Daisies will work just fine, white and yellow are the best. They'll match your hair beautifully!" She smiled regarding my chocolate brown mop.

"Perfect." I smiled.

"Well the contract is ready for signing." Mr. Malfoy announced as he and my father walked into the parlor.

"Perfect." Draco muttered. Copying my earlier sentiment.

"Shall we sign it in my study?" My father asked.

"That would be lovely, dear. Go on children, we'll be right here when you are done." My mother pushed.

"Shall we?" Draco said, offering his arm to me as he stood.

"I guess." I muttered taking it, more to keep me from fainting than for guidance.

As we followed the two men into my father's study I couldn't help but begin to hyperventilate. I saw my life flash before my eyes, past present and future. Draco picked up on my heavy breathing I think because he kept shooting me odd glances and adjusted his arm so that if I fell he would catch me.

"Right in here" My father said ushering us all in.

"Now then." Mr. Malfoy started as we all sat down. "The contract has been reviewed by both of our lawyers and is pretty rock solid, if I say so myself."

"Perfect" I muttered under my breath.

"Now it states that the two of you must be married within sixth months of Gwendolyn's graduation. Which I think is more than enough time to get to know one another and plan a wedding." My father interjected.

"You will have to have a child within the first five years of marriage. Which is more than enough time, I think." Lucius kept on.

"Perfect." Draco muttered under his breath.

"Now on the subject of divorce. After ten years, if the two of you desire, you can get a divorce and all of the properties will be divided equally and the child may choose which parent to live with." My father continued."

"While the two of you are married, there will be no adultery. You must live together for the first five years of your marriage. After the five years is up, you are permitted to live separately." Lucius finished. "Any questions?"

"No." Draco and I both said at the same time.

"Wonderful. Now we must have both of your signatures here. And your initials here." My father said producing two quills and making us sign where he indicated.

"Wonderful." Lucius drawled. "Shall we go back to the parlor?"

"Perfect, we should toast to the occasion." My father said as he walked out of his study leaving Draco and I alone together.

The silence was deafening. I could barely breathe and all I wanted to do was run into my room and cry.

"Well, I guess that's it then." Draco said all I could do was nod in return. "Shall we go back to the parlor?" He asked after a long period of silence.

I still couldn't form words so I just nodded and followed him out of the study and into the parlor.

When we walked in the family was toasting and my mother was the first to notice the two of us.

"Gwendolyn, darling, are you feeling all right?" she asked noticing my pale skin. Still unable to form words I just nodded my head and attempted to force a smile, which turned into a grimace. "Don't lie to me because we have guests. Say good night and head to bed. You look as pale as a ghost."

"Yes mother," I said finally able to form words "Thank you for coming this evening it was lovely meeting you."

"You too my dear." Narcissa smiled standing to peck my cheek. "You must come stay with us at the manor before you go back to school. How does next week sound?"

"I have a friend coming over next week." I said shakily

"Well, by all means, bring them too. I would love to meet your friends." She gushed

"Then next week sounds lovely." I smiled.

"Good evening young lady." Lucius drawled next to me taking my hand and kissing it. "We are glad to welcome you into the family" he continued on, showing no real signs of emotion.

"Good evening, Mr. Malfoy." I smiled forcibly.

"Goodnight Gwendolyn." Draco smirked from beside me. He was obviously taking our engagement much better that I was.

"Goodnight, Draco." I replied, not in the mood for his cockiness

"I'll see you next week." he whispered.

"Fine." I replied.

He pecked my cheek leaning back knowing I had won this battle. "Goodnight everyone." I said as I shakily left the room to head upstairs.

_What did I ever do to deserve this? _


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys! So I haven't gotten one review yet *wipes tears*, but a couple of you have decided to follow my story *applauds lovely readers*, I would really love to hear what you think good or bad. Just leave me a quick note about what you think or whatever it would really make my day. OH and I forgot to put one of these in chapter one SO:**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this story (except the one's you don't recognize, those are mine) J.K. Rowling does. ENJOY!**

Blaise Zambini could out drink anyone in a heartbeat, something that drove me completely nutters. The only good thing about it was that when you wanted to get wasted he kept you from doing stupid things. The only bad thing was that when you wanted to get wasted he kept you from doing something stupid.

"Is she hot?" Blaise asked, ignoring the fact that I was not in the mood to discuss the attractiveness of my betrothed.

"Yeah, but only if you like muggle loving drama queens." I grumbled taking another shot of fire whiskey and motioning to the bartender for more.

"Those are the best kind." Blaise muttered, the alcohol having no affects on him.

"Ha! She has some friend coming over, some guy. He's probably dating her. I'm dating a tramp, Zambini!" I slurred

"Where does she go to school again?" He asked

"That performing school in America. What?" I shouted noticing his laughter next to me.

"Did you ever think that maybe he's gay?" he managed to get out through his state.

"What?"

"Mate, half the guys there are gay. I wouldn't mind being a student" Blaise winked.

"You disgust me." I muttered taking another shot.

"Why not try talking to her?" He asked. "Maybe you'll find something that you like."

"I doubt it." I slurred again.

"When is she coming over?"

"Monday." I replied, realizing that it was Saturday night.

"Hang out with her then. Try talking. Write me if you need help, I have a way with the ladies." Blaise winked again.

"Wait; why not just come over too?" I said struggling to stay on my stool. "You can keep me sane, and entertain her friend."

"I'll think about it." He replied.

"Oh please Blaise? I don't ask you for much! I'm begging please?" I asked losing all my dignity by trying to stand up and nearly falling.

"Fine. I'll come. Just never do that again." He said

"YES!" I said trying to jump and actually falling this time.

"Let's get you home." He said laying some galleons on the bar top and putting my arm around his shoulder.

"You know, why can't I be gay like you? Then I wouldn't have to worry about this stupid marriage."

"It doesn't work like that mate." Blaise said holding back laughter,

"If I was gay and you were gay we could be lovers." I said in my drunken state.

This time I earned an actual laugh. "I'm not your type."

"You ruin all my fun." I muttered sounding like a child.

"I try." He smirked back. I felt the familiar pull of apparation and we arrived in Blaise's bedroom.

Losing all my dignity I fell onto the floor finding the carpet very soft all of a sudden. "Nightey night Blaisiekinz." I muttered falling asleep.

_What did I do to deserve this?_

GHDM

"So is he cute?" Brian asked, completely ignoring my long distance ranting.

"I guess, if you like pompous ass hole." I grunted to him as I jumped onto my king sized four poster bed.

"I do, so much."Brian muttered

"He's so rude, Bri. When kipper came to get us for dinner he called her an it! Can you believe that?" I shouted.

"That's how he was raised, Lyn." He replied.

"Why do you always pick the wrong side?" I shouted in irritation.

"I don't pick sides. I'm the third party un biased opinion."

"I hate you." I muttered

"You love me."

"And we have to spend all of our Lyn and Bri time at his house!" I groaned in frustration.

"So? It will be good for you to infiltrate enemy territory and for me to see if he has any friends." Brian giggled.

"Is your entire life ruled by your hormones?" I asked

"Only most of it."

"Can't I just jump off a bridge and be done with it?" I asked

"And give Daphne the satisfaction?" He asked mentioning my arch nemesis. "Hell no."

"Why do you always have to be right?"

"It's a gift." He laughed making my bad mood disappear again as we started to plan our year.

Brian and I have been friends since our very first day at PASOM, when he couldn't get the combination in our first jazz class and I helped him. It's been love ever since. Brian was the person I ran to when my first boyfriend broke my heart, and I was the first person he told when he came out. Brian and I had no secret's, that's not how it worked with us. Even when there were boys in the picture, we were still there for each other; something that bugged my boyfriends to no end.

As we chatted on for another hour about things I wouldn't even remember in the morning, I couldn't help but wonder what would happen after graduation. Draco and I would be forced into a loveless marriage and my theatre dreams would be ruined. Great.

_What did I ever do to deserve this? _

GHDM

Waiting at the door for Gwendolyn Hasting to arrive at Malfoy manor was terrible. First of all, she was very late, second Blaise kept making fun of my drunken self just two nights before, and third I was hungry.

"Will you shut up?" I snapped at Blaise.

"Oh come on. Just the other night you couldn't get enough of me." He laughed.

"Bite me."

"Maybe later." He winked.

I rolled my eyes at his antics but chose not to comment back, but instead to check my watch for the fifteenth time. "She's late." I muttered

"She's a woman, they do that." He replied.

Just as I was about to reply to his comment I heard the distinct pop of apparation outside, and the sound of muted voices arguing.

"But I told Brian I would meet him at the airport, Mother." I heard Gwendolyn growl at her mother.

"Well, why not ask Draco to accompany you?" She replied

"Why not pluck all my eyelashes out as I listen to bad rap music on repeat?" she muttered

"Do not give me that attitude young lady. Narcissa has invited you into her home so that the two of you may get to know one another better before you both are off to school, so you better be polite and respectful. Do I make myself clear?" her mother reprimanded in a dangerous tone.

"Whatever. You can leave now." She replied with irritation.

"I think I will. Ask Draco to accompany you to the airport. I'm sure that he would love it."

"Yes mother." Gwendolyn muttered as the older woman apparated away. "Kill me now."

The doors opened revealing Gwen in a short jean skirt and T-shirt spelling out the words Broadway on her chest; muggle clothing, although strange, was one of my favorite inventions.

"Ah, Gwendolyn; so happy you could grace us with your presence." I smirked, receiving an elbow to the side from Blaise.

"Sorry, my friend's plane got delayed. He was supposed to be here at one. That's why I'm late." She replied with venom. "Who's your friend?"

"I'm Blaise Zambini. Draco's best, and only, friend." Blaise said dramatically, making her giggle.

"Draco? He has a friend?" she asked in astonishment "fascinating. I never would have guessed."

"Oh don't worry; I'm just another paid Malfoy family employee." Blaise joked.

"Then it's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Gwendolyn Hasting, but just call me Gwen." She smiled at him.

"A pleasure to meet you my dear." He smirked. "We couldn't help but over hear your conversation outside. Did you say your friend is stranded at the airport?"

"Yes, I did." She smiled again.

"Then may we accompany you?" He asked.

"I would love that, thank you." She replied. Blaise was obviously trying to win her over, stupid prick.

"I'll have Minnie take your things up to your room. Minnie!" I called.

There was a pop and then the house elf appeared in front of me. "Take Ms. Hastings things to her room." I said.

"Yes, master." She replied with a deep bow going to grab Gwen's trunk from the door.

"Thank you, Minnie." Gwen smiled at the elf. Minnie bowed again taking the trunk and apparating to Gwen's room.

"Shall we go then?" Blaise asked extending his arm. He threw a look over his shoulder at me, trying to drag me into the conversation that I wanted nothing to do with.

"We shall." She laughed taking it. "Are you coming Draco?" She asked me looking back with irritation.

"Yes, of course I am." I said offering my arm to her. "Can you apparate?"

"Not legally. My birthday isn't until December."

"Then we can go side-along." I offered trying to be polite.

"Great, do you know where we're going?" She asked again.

"I hope so." I muttered.

"You apparate to London and I'll get us where we need to go." She offered.

"Sounds lovely." I said gratefully.

We apparated to my favorite spot in the middle of muggle London, a little park not too far from the Leaky Cauldron.

"Oh perfect!" Gwen said suddenly "The airports only a mile or so that way. Come on!"

She led the way down the street with Blaise and me following her.

_Maybe this won't be so bad._

GHDM

"His plane just landed so he should be here any minute." I said looking around for the familiar sight of my best friend.

"What does he look like?" Blaise asked. He was totally tall dark and handsome, something I'm sure Brian was going to appreciate

"Blonde hair, blue eyes, pale." I started listing while looking around.

"I don't see him." Blaise said

Draco was standing off to the side looking repulsed by all of the muggles, but I chose not to get on him about it, it wasn't worth the drama.

"IS THAT GWENDOLYN HASTING?" I heard from the escalator.

"BRIAN!" I squealed jumping up and down waiting for him to make his way over to me.

"Did you get prettier?" He asked as he ran over.

"Like that's possible." I shouted back running to him.

"OMIGOD, LYN!" he squealed.

"OMIGOD, BRI!" I squealed back as we hugged and jumped up and down.

"I think you got prettier." He gushed.

"I think you got sexier" I smirked.

"Someone got shorter."

"Someone got taller."

"God I missed you!" He sang as he pulled me in for another hug.

"I missed you more!" I smiled as I squeezed him.

"So where's the fiancé I want to meet him" He said looking around.

"Over there. Do we have to go talk to him? He makes me mad!" I groaned.

"Yes, I'm sure mommy Hasting is forcing you to be nice so let's listen to her for once."

"I hate you." I mumbled as we walked over to the boys.

"Hi, I'm Brian. Lyn has told me so much about you." He said holding out his hand.

"I wish I could say the same about you." Draco said with irritation at our display.

"And this is his friend Blaise." I said choosing to ignore Draco and indicating the cutie next to him.

"Well, hi there. I'm Brian." He said flicking his longish hair to the side in a total 'check me out' move.

"A pleasure to meet you Brian. Blaise Zambini." Tall dark and handsome drawled.

"You're Draco's friend?" Brian asked in a 'let's make pointless small talk' kind of way.

"The one and only." Blaise smirked at him.

My gay-dar was going wild. It was practically written all over Blaise's designer jeans and fitted t-shirt that he didn't exactly play for the same team as Draco did, but why wasn't he picking up on Brian's obvious attempts at flirting?

"Would you mind helping me with my luggage? It's really heavy and I'm a total weakling!" Brian complained trying to get Blaise to himself.

"Of course." Blaise smiled following Brian to baggage claim.

"Why isn't he flirting back?" I asked to no one in particular.

"He only came out this spring." Draco answered.

"it was a rhetorical question, Draco." I seethed.

"Do you always talk to yourself?" He mocked.

"Only when dealing with total ass holes like you." I smiled.

"Oh you wound me Gwen!" He said holding his chest.

"Only a wound?" I asked in disappointment.

"How come your friend gets to call you Lyn?" He asked.

"Brian is special." I replied.

"aren't I special?" He asked.

"Special ed, maybe."

"Are you always this hostile?" He asked striking a nerve.

"No." I said turning away from him to wait for Brian and Blaise.

It was silent for a while as we waited for our friends to come back.

"My mother won't be home tonight so she said I have to take you and your friend out for dinner, any requests?" He asked suddenly. His tone was much less mocking that it was before.

"I know a little muggle restaurant just outside of London, they have the best Pizza in the entire county." I answered, deciding not to be a bitch.

It was silent for a bit longer as he considered my request. "How does seven sound?" He asked choosing not to comment on the location.

"Seven sounds great." I replied nodding my head as our friends came into view with Brian's luggage in tow.

I wasn't exactly looking forward to the evening, but maybe we would survive if he put his pig headedness aside.

_Maybe this wouldn't be so bad._

GHDM

I had spoken to soon, much too soon. Brian and Blaise had learned of our plans and decided to make some of their own, leaving me alone with Gwen for the evening. As I sat in the library with Blaise I couldn't hold in my irritation with him.

"How could you make plans and leave me alone with her?" I seethed.

"Well you see Brian asked for a tour of the city and I offered to be his tour guide. It just so happens that I knew for a fact we were both free tonight so I made the suggestion that we go this evening. That's how." Blaise smirked, ever the smart ass.

"That's not what I meant! Now I have to go all by myself with this woman who I can't stand and you get to have man time. I hate you!" I groaned leaning back in my chair.

"Man time? Have you seen Brian? He's a sex god! Tonight won't be 'man time' as you so eloquently put it. Tonight will be me attempting to talk to him. I'm such a spaz!" he groaned back.

"Do you even realize that the guy has been trying to flirt with you since he got off his plane?" I asked wondering how my friend could be so oblivious.

"Quit lying." He muttered.

"Why are you such an idiot?" I asked.

"I'm the idiot? You have the most beautiful witch I've ever seen staying in your house, and you're complaining?"

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

"Gwen is gorgeous, and she's not a total bimbo like all those other girl's you've dated. She has a brain and she knows what she wants."

"Not all the girls that I've dated have been bimbo's" I grumbled.

"Name one." Blaise challenged.

"I will." I said starting to think, and think, and think until I finally realized that he was right.

"See? She'll be good for you." Blaise smirked.

"fine." I grumbled.

"I win. Now, what am I going to wear?" Blaise asked, changing the subject.

"God, you're such a girl!" I groaned.

As we made our way to his room I couldn't help but let my mind stray.

_Maybe Blaise is right. Maybe she will be good for me._

GHDM

"I can't believe you!" I scowled while I paced across my huge bedroom in Malfoy manor.

"yes, you can." Brian muttered from his spot on my bed.

"I don't care how cute the guy may be, you can't just leave me alone with my fiancé like that!" I complained

"Think about what you just said, did it make any sense?" he asked me.

"Well no, but I can't stand the guy! He thinks he's so awesome and that the ladies are practically eating from his palm! It drives me nuts. He called kipper an it, and he hates everything muggle! What's his problem?" I yelled.

"Maybe he just wants to get a rise out of you." He suggested.

"What?"

"A rise. HE just wants to see your reaction, I think that's precious." He cooed.

"You disgust me." I grumbled.

"You know he seems like he has the potential to be a nice guy." Brian smiled.

"yeah, if he ever gets that stick out of his ass." I moaned flopping myself onto the bed.

"Why don't we show him what he's missing?" Brian smirked.

"What?" I asked.

"Let's put you into one of those whore outfits you have and show him what he's missing." He smirked again.

"I still don't get it."

"If Lyn looks hot then maybe Draco will quit being a douche." Brian dumbed it down.

"PERFECT!" I shouted taking the plan into consideration. "Now what to wear?"

"I love closet shopping." Brian smiled.

We spent the next hour going through my closet. Though I was only spending a week with the Malfoys I had packed everything I would need when I went off to America the next week for school. The outfit possibilities were endless.

"How about this?" I asked holding up a leopard print bandage skirt that I rarely wore in public.

"Maybe." Brian contemplated. "Put it with the other possibilities."

I placed the skirt onto the bed along with at least twenty other outfit choices. "Why don't we stop looking and narrow it down to just these?" I asked.

"Fine, let's play dress up!" He laughed while clapping his hands together.

I shimmied out of y skirt and t-shirt, forgetting about the concept of modesty, and pulled on a tight black dress and a pair of bright red heels.

"It's too formal, we're just going to Luigi's outside of London!" I said not waiting for Brian's opinion and taking it off and selecting black skinny jeans and a sparkly red top combo.

"You know Lyn; I think he may be good for you." Brian smiled as a pulled the top into place. "But you look like a tramp."

"The only thing Draco Malfoy is good for is giving me a heart attack." I mumbled pulling the shirt off and picking up my favorite turtle neck.

"Now you look like a nun!" He moaned. "But he's gotten you out of your funk."

"What funk?" I asked as I yanked the sweater off over my head and pulled on a flowing white shirt that showed some cleavage but left something for the mind to imagine.

"The one you've been in ever since James…well you know." He said, choosing not to finish his sentence.

"Yes, I do know. And I have not been in a funk ever since then! Now, what do you think?" I asked.

"I like the shirt, but it looks weird with jeans, try that skirt." He said pointing out the leopard print one that I loved.

"Okay." I said shimmying out of my jeans.

"Think about it Lyn, you haven't dated anyone since him and you're finally attempting to look hot again." He encouraged.

"there aren't exactly a ton of guys for me to date, you know?" I replied pulling on the skirt.

"I see your point but seriously Lyn, he's going to be good for you. I just know it." He smiled sympathetically "You look hot by the way."

"For real?" I asked not believing him

"Would I lie to you about beauty?" He asked in astonishment.

"Never!" I replied letting out a laugh.

"Now to deal with your hair." He groaned regarding the curly mess sitting on my head.

"It can't be tamed." I smiled.

"By you!" he said whipping out his wand and starting to work his magic, literally.

Twenty minutes later he was done and my hair looked amazing. I don't know how he did it but my wild hair looked even wilder yet tamed at the same time. The curls were more controlled and he had added a smoky eye to pull the whole look together.

"Holy cow Bri!" I beamed.

"I know just say it." He smiled.

"You're amazing! Marry me?" I asked

"I don't hang out on that side of the stage baby." He winked.

I laughed with him some more as I checked myself in the mirror.

_Maybe Brian is right. Maybe he will be good for me._

GHDM

I was waiting for Gwen in the main hall with Blaise who may have been more nervous than I was.

"Just breathe, mate. He'll like you!" I consoled feeling like a woman.

"Whatever, I'm fine." He lied.

I left him alone as I looked towards the stairs. She wasn't late, I was just abnormally early. Then I saw her coming down the stairs.

She looked amazing. Her hair was wild but tamed and she was wearing a tight skirt but a flowing shirt, it was an amazing balancing act. She completed the look with sneakers and a necklace that hung to her stomach.

"You look-"I struggled attempting to clear my throat "Nice."

"Thanks." She smiled. "You don't look half bad yourself."

"I try." I smirked back causing her to roll her eyes at me.

"Are you ready to go?" She asked.

"Yes. See you later Blaise." I smirked over at my friend who was trying so hard to play it cool.

"Bye boys." Gwen smiled looking over at the awkward couple.

We walked over to the door so we could apparate outside. "You want me to do it?" she asked.

"Sure." I replied knowing I would have ended up hopelessly lost.

I felt the familiar pulling at my navel and we were off.

After a moment of apparation we appeared in a dark alley way where no one else was, "If you wanted to get me alone Gwen, all you had to do was ask." I smirked.

"In your dreams." She rolled her eyes and walked forward forcing me to follow behind like a puppy.

"Wait." I said, suddenly remembering the box in my pocket. "I know neither of us wants to do this but I thought we should make it official."

"What do you mean?" She asked in confusion.

As an answer I knelt down and pulled the black velvet box out of my pocket. "Gwendolyn Hasting, will you marry me?" I asked feeling ridiculous.

"I don't have much of a choice do I?" she joked.

"No, not really." I joked back and opened the box to reveal the rind inside of it.

It was my grandmother's engagement ring; something she had left to me when she died saying that she truly hoped my wife would be the one to wear it.

"Oh, Draco it's beautiful." She gasped in awe at the simple silver band and blue sapphire centered in the middle, my grandfather's tribute to my grandmothers Ravenclaw heritage.

"It was my grandmothers. She wanted my wife to wear it, I hope you don't mind." I replied, attempting to reposition myself because the sidewalk was not comfortable at all.

"I love it." She said holding her hand out for me to slip the ring on it. With a simple sizing charm it adjusted perfectly to her finger. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." I replied. Then she did something I never would have expected, she took my hand. And the worst part? I liked it.

"The restaurant is just down the block, come on." She smiled guiding me down the street.

We didn't speak during the walk over; I don't know if I could have had I tried. Something about her holding my hand made me speechless. Draco Malfoy did not hold hands, not even with his girlfriend. Hand holding was not a cool move, at all, too public. It announced that a couple was together and I think that's why I never did it. I liked options. Now that didn't have those anymore, holding Gwen's hand felt good.

"Here we are!" She beamed stopping in front of a small Italian restaurant called Luigi's. "Luigi makes the best Pizza in the whole country!"

"I'll believe that when I taste it." I joked as I opened the door for her earning a smile from my fiancé.

Fiancé. God that sounded weird. Gwendolyn Hasting, my fiancé. I had a fiancé. I took her hand again as we waited to be seated, something about holding her hand made me feel safe. Dear God, this woman had just stripped me of my man card.

"Gwendolyn!" a man shouted in an Italian accent. "Where have you been all summer my darling? Not one visit since June, I thought you had left the country!"

"Not quite." Gwen laughed giving the older man a hug. "Luigi this is my fiancé Draco."

"A fiancé?" Luigi asked in his thick accent. "You have been holding out on me darling! Why didn't you tell me you had a boyfriend?"

"You never asked!" She laughed.

"Well I'm pleased to meet you Draco. Dinner is on the house tonight." He smiled shaking my hand

"No! We wouldn't think of-"I started but he cut me off.

"don't you start young man? This is my engagement present for the lovely couple. Now I expect an invitation to the wedding, darling." He said in his loud Italian manner.

"I wouldn't dream of forgetting you." Gwen smiled.

"The table in the back is open. Dark and quiet, perfect for the young couple." He winked at me.

"thank you, sir." I said guiding Gwen to the table he mentioned.

Once we sat down Gwen started looking at the menu and I couldn't help but continue staring at her. It was no question that she was beautiful her hair, though wild and curly, was beautiful and her body was thin, but not scarily so. Any man would be lucky to snag her, and I'd done just that.

"Like what you see?" She joked noticing my obvious staring.

"So what if I do?" I smirked back.

"Then that means our parents were right, we are perfect for each other." She smiled looking back at the menu.

"I hate it when that happens." I said looking down at menu for the first time.

"Do you want to split a pizza with me?" She asked not looking up.

"Sure, what kind do you like?" I asked.

"Pepperoni, ham, pineapple, and peppers!" She smiled.

"That sounds disgusting!" I groaned.

"Come on, live a little. IT won't kill you!" She tempted.

"No."

"Please?"

"No." I replied not looking up.

"Draco." Something about her voice forced me to look into her big puppy dog eyes. "Please?" that's when I knew it was a mistake.

"Fine." God damn witch and her puppy dog eyes, how could anyone say no to them?

"Yay! I win." She smiled setting her menu down and waving over a waiter to place our order.

_This witch may be the end of me._

GHDM

I sat staring at Draco from across the table. He was attractive, I couldn't deny it, but something about shim made me want to learn more. Why was he such a smart ass? He drove me mad with his smirks and sarcasm. His proposal was out of the blue, I didn't think he would even get me a ring. I didn't even know that I wanted one until he pulled out the tiny box.

"What are you thinking about?" He asked, pulling me out of my thoughts.

"Nothing." I replied, not wanting to let him know that the spotlight in my mind was currently on him.

"Lies. No one just thinks about nothing." He smirked taking a sip of the coke I had ordered him.

"I was thinking about school." I lied.

"What about school?"

"I was just think about the distance thing." I said.

"really?" he asked.

"Yeah." I replied letting the conversation drop.

"Maybe we could write each other." He suggested, picking the conversation back up again.

"You would make an owl fly all the way across the ocean?" I asked, appalled.

"No, we could use muggle post." He smiled, proud of himself.

"And how would you get a letter to the muggle post box?" I asked seeing the flaw in his plan.

"Well-"he trailed off knowing his plan wasn't going to work.

"Nice try." I smiled.

"We can figure something out." He muttered taking another sip of his drink "This is so good."

"that is pure sugar." I smirked.

"I don't care." He said finishing off the glass. "I'm having another."

"If you say so." I smiled as he motioned to the waiter for another glass. I laughed at him, which made him scowl.

"What's so funny?" he asked unamused.

"You." I smiled sticking my tongue out and having a sip of my own coke.

He didn't reply only bothering to roll his eyes in my direction and thank the waiter for his second coke.

We sat in silence for a while longer. I stared out the window thinking about our future while he stared at me.

"What are you thinking about?" I asked, repeating his question.

"Your smile." He said half heartedly.

"My smile?"

"Yes. It brightens up a room." He muttered more to himself.

"Thanks." I replied, wondering where he was going with this.

"My mother never smiles, not like you I mean. I've never known anyone who smiles as often as you do, and even though you hate me you still smile." He said finally looking me in the eyes.

"Grin and bear it!" I replied.

"Pizza's here." He muttered killing the sweet moment we had going on.

"Yum!" I smiled, causing him to do the same. "You smiled."

"You started it." He replied sticking his own tongue out. "this looks disgusting."

"Just take a bite, Draco. Live a little." I said chowing down on my own slice.

"fine." He replied picking up a fork and knife.

"What are you doing?" I asked appalled.

"taking a bite." He replied.

"By cutting your slice?" I asked.

"Yes." He replied, going to cut it again.

"STOP!" I all but shouted. "That is not how you eat a Luigi's pizza."

"then how do you eat a Luigi's pizza?" he asked sounded annoyed.

"You fold it." I said demonstrating the 'pizza fold', "you drain it," I demonstrated draining the slice "You eat it." I took a bite.

"You're kidding." He replied.

"No!" I answered eyeing him until he did as I said.

"Omigod." He said as he swallowed his first bite.

"I know, it's heaven." I smiled at him as he took another bite.

"How on earth is this level of delicious possible?" he asked as he continued eating the pizza.

"Magic." I smirked.

"I thought this was a muggle restaurant." He said.

"it is! Luigi is just a wizard." I answered.

"That explains it." He replied starting on his second slice.

The rest of dinner was pretty quiet. We ate, and Luigi brought out a pie for Brian. As we walked out I heard Luigi call my name.

"Gwen?" he asked.

"yes?" I answered.

"I like this boy, he's very nice. Good for you, I mean." He smiled looking at Draco standing over by the door.

"That's what everyone keeps saying." I smiled back.

"Have a good year, be happy. It is allowed." He said waving me off.

"Bye Luigi, thanks for dinner."

"Anytime." He smiled as Draco and I walked out hand in hand.

"What was that all about?" Draco asked once we were outside.

"Don't worry about it." I said shaking my head.

"If you say so." He replied smirking over at me causing me to blush.

_This wizard may be the end of me._

**So what did you think? Leave me a review and tell me all about it! Happy New Year!**


	3. Chapter 3

I was gripped by the familiar pull of apparation as Gwen and I traveled back to the manor. I had decided to show Gwen my favorite ice cream shop a few blocks away from Luigi's and then a park nearby where we sat and talked for a bit longer. She was an interesting creature. Gwen wanted nothing more in life than to be a performer, she had refused to sing for me when I had asked but I had a feeling I would see her perform eventually. This marriage screwed her over, and I felt terrible because it was partly my fault. I wanted to help her. I was turning into a softie.

"Come on!" She laughed as she stumbled when we landed on the porch step.

"Sorry." I smiled.

"Its way past my curfew, Brian is going to be going crazy!" She rolled her eyes as I opened the door.

"Will he mind if I walk you to your door then?" I asked, going out on a whim.

"Yes." She said looking toward the stairs.

"Oh," I trailed off feeling deflated.

"I never said I would mind." She said taking my hand again.

I smiled at her guiding her towards the stairs. Our hands fit together perfectly and it made me feel odd when she pulled hers out of my grasp. I looked back at her wondering why she'd done such a thing when I realized that she had stopped to take her sneakers off.

"You know, there isn't a rule about shoes in the house." I smirked down at her.

"It's a habit." She replied rolling her eyes in my direction.

"Whatever you say."

As she picked them up and came up to my level she grabbed my hand again "Shall we?" she asked smirking back. I guided her upstairs in reply. We walked in silence, probably because she was so tired and we had exhausted nearly every topic of conversation. It wasn't an awkward silence though, more of a comfortable one, the kind of thing where speaking may ruin the moment. As we rounded the corner to her room we heard male voices speaking and then I was hit by a small force as I was pushed behind a green drape and a hand was put over my mouth.

She was much shorter than me. The top of her head barely came to my chin. I looked down at her with an amused face and lowered my mouth to her ear causing her to shiver at my warm breath.

"You know if you wanted to snog me in private all you had to do was ask." I whispered, smirking.

She looked up at me with pink cheeks and put her finger to her lips and nodded her head towards the voices, she wanted to eavesdrop.

"I had fun tonight." I heard one unfamiliar voice say, probably Brian.

"I did too." I heard Blaise reply.

"We should do it again sometime." This conversation was getting ridiculously awkward ridiculously fast.

"We should, before you go back to school." Nice Blaise, whatever happened to 'playing it cool'?

Then I felt Gwen tilt her head up towards me and I looked down, she was rolling her eyes in their direction which caused me to let out an almost silent laugh.

"Did you hear that?" Brian asked.

"No." Blaise replied obviously not caring, then it got really quiet and I got really curious.

I looked down at Gwen to see her slightly peeking out at them then returning immediately with her hand over her mouth; she was laughing.

"Well I'll see you at breakfast, Brian." Blaise said.

"Good night." Brian giggled and then the door closed.

I looked down at Gwen and realized what had just happened. She saw me going to laugh and immediately put her hand over my mouth to stop me but it was too late.

"Didn't mean to interrupt." Blaise smirked as he pulled back the drape revealing Gwen and I in a not so innocent position.

"We weren't!" Gwen said putting her hands up and stepping away from me, and I felt different; it was like I missed holding her. Weird.

"Whatever you say." Blaise smirked and walked off whistling to himself.

Then we lost it for good. Gwen was crying from laughing so hard and I thought that maybe I might see my dinner again. I couldn't remember the last time I had ever laughed so hard in my entire life; and it felt good.

"I can't breathe!" Gwen giggled as she attempted to right herself from all the laughter.

"I can't either!" I laughed back, gaining my composure gradually.

As we finally turned into normal human beings who could breathe without laughing I stared into her surprisingly blue eyes, something I had never noticed before.

"Thank you for tonight, Draco." She smiled up at me.

"Anytime." I smiled back walking with her for the ten steps over to her door; I was turning into _such_ a cliché.

"I can't remember the last time that I laughed so hard." She giggled again.

"Me neither." We stood in silence a moment longer not sure what to do. "Good night, Gwendolyn."

"That's the most unfortunate name in the world. I hate it. Please call me Gwen." She complained.

"Everyone calls you Gwen." I complained back.

"Exactly!"

"But I'm not everyone." I smirked.

"Fine. You can call me anything but Gwendolyn." She replied giving me a flirty smile.

"How about short stack?" I joked.

"No way in hell you're going to call me that!" She said in seriousness.

"Curly?" I asked.

"No."

"Hasting?"

"That sounds like you hate me!"

"Lyn?"

"Brian has dibs."

"Mike?"

"Mike?" She repeated.

"Kidding." I replied, and then I came up with an idea. "What about Doll?"

"Doll?" She repeated again.

"Yeah you know Gwen_dol_yn. It's perfect."

"I like it." She smiled up at me.

"Well then, good night Doll." I smirked.

"Goodnight...Dray." She replied stretching on her tip toes and giving me a peck on the cheek. "See you in the morning."

As she walked through her door and shut it I couldn't help but holding my cheek where her lips had just been.

_Is it possible to actually like the woman you marry?_

GHDM

Waking up the next morning was hell. When I walked in Brian wanted minute by minute details so of course I wanted the same, in the end sleep wasn't reached until nearly two a.m. Rolling on my back and staring up at the ceiling I smiled to myself, the previous night hadn't been so bad. I nudged the lump next to me only to receive a groan in response.

"Get up sleepy head!" I sang to him.

"No." he moaned burying his head back into the pillow.

"Oh hey Blaise, what are you doing in here? Good god man put on a shirt!" I said to no one in particular in an attempt to wake up my best friend.

"What?"Brian sprang up looking around for the aforementioned boy. "You witch!"

"Abra kadabra!" I smirked standing up and stretching my sore back.

I left him alone as I pulled some more appropriate clothes to change into when I went to look for breakfast after my shower.

Walking into the huge bathroom was like walking into a dream. It was all white tiles with light blue walls and a large bay window looking out over the back of the Malfoy properties sat by the mirror. No matter how much I didn't like them, the Malfoys knew how to treat a guest.

I walked over to the shower and pulled my hair up into a bun before turning on the knob to warm. I shimmied out of my bootie shorts and tank top, kicking them to the side, and stepped into the warm spray of the jet. Letting the warm water spray my back was heaven as I poured my favorite vanilla shower gel into my palm and began to lather it onto my skin.

From outside of the door I heard a quick knock and then someone opening the door.

"I just need to brush my teeth!" Brian called to me, as if I cared.

For the past two years I had lived in the boy's theatre dorm at PASOM because of a certain girl who had it out for me. She once charmed my shampoo to make my hair blue and shaved my head while I slept. Since then I had thought it best to stay in a safer domain. Living with Brian had exposed us to one another and it had gotten to the point where neither of us particularly cared anymore.

"Trying to look good for Drakie?" Brian teased as I rinsed off the soap from my body.

"Trying to impress Blazie?" I teased back, turning off the warm jet.

"Touché." He replied spitting out his tooth paste and walking over to the shower to hand me my towel.

"Thanks." I replied as I took the fluffy white thing from him. He gave a non committal noise as he walked out of the bathroom and back into our room.

I walked over to the counter where I had set my favorite pair of black sweatpants that read POSSUM down one leg and a dark blue tank top. I pulled on my various under garments and clothes then gave myself a good look in the mirror as I set about taming my hair for breakfast.

After a good five minutes with a comb I gave up, pulling the mess into a side braid that I fastened with a bright blue rubber band, it would have to do.

Walking out into the bedroom and finding it empty didn't surprise me at all. Brian was in a rush to see Blaise this morning, last night must have been one hell of a night. I set out to find the breakfast room, hoping it was down stairs near the door.

After a looking around for ten minutes I was lost. Malfoy Manor was huge and I must have taken a wrong turn somewhere. So I did the thing anyone else would have done in my situation.

"HELLO?" I called. "I'm LOST!" No answer "DRACO? BLAISE? BRIAN?" Still no answer. "HELP! I'VE FALLEN AND I CAN'T GET UP!"

"Just press the button around your neck then!" I heard Brian call from down the hallway.

"I've been looking everywhere for you! Where have you been?" I asked.

"Lost, but I think I found something quite interesting. Care to see it?" Brian asked mischievously.

"Is it bad?" I asked, unsure.

"No." He lied.

"Fine." I agreed.

"Follow me." He turned around and started going down I hallway I hadn't seen moments before. It wound around forever. There were doors on both side and a staircase that led up stairs. "Come on" he ordered taking a right onto the staircase and beckoning me with a finger.

I wasn't 100% sure about this but I decided to go against my better judgment and follow my best friend up the stairs and down another hall way. "This place is huge." I muttered taking in the fact that I had yet to come to a dead end that day.

"I know! Okay its right over…" He trailed off counting doors or something until he stopped at the one he wanted "here!"

"This is a door." I stated.

"I know." He smiled.

"Do I open it?" I asked.

"If you want to." He continued smiling.

"Okay that's it, what's behind this door?" I asked, but he didn't get a chance to answer because suddenly it was jerked open.

There in all his morning glory was Draco Malfoy with nothing but a pair of sweatpants on. Being a seeing girl I took full advantage of the view.

"Hot damn." Brian muttered taking in the view as well.

"Like what you see, Doll?" Draco smirked over at my half open mouth.

"No." I muttered looking away.

"Is there a reason you are outside my bedroom shouting at this ungodly hour?"

"It's eleven fifteen." I pointed out, a perfectly acceptable hour in my mind.

"Still doesn't answer my question." He smirked over at me.

"We're lost." I muttered.

"I'm sorry?" He asked not hearing me.

"Wecan'tfindthekitchen." I said slurring it together so as not to embarrass myself.

"You what?" He asked.

"We can't find the god damned kitchen! Quit playing games with me Malfoy, I'm hungry and I want a sandwich!" I all but shouted at the infuriating man opposite me.

"She's feisty in the mornings." Draco smirked over at Brian who was still admiring Draco's well toned six pack. "Let me grab a jacket."

He disappeared into his room and returned a second later in a green and silver jacket that read his name on the back. "Quidditch?" Brian asked.

"Yep, I'm seeker." He smirked as if this meant something to Brian and I, which it didn't.

"Cool!" Brian nodded his head. "So where do we go for food?"

"It's just downstairs and the tenth door on the right." Draco pointed out.

"Oh wow! How did we miss that?" I muttered sarcastically.

"You didn't have such a sexy guide." My fiancé smirked; he was kind of getting on my nerves.

"That's for sure." I heard Brian say under his breath just loud enough for only me to hear.

"Did you sleep well?" Draco asked attempting to take my hand which I then shoved into the pocket of my sweatpants. No matter how much I liked holding his hand, I would not do it when he was being a jerk.

"Oh I slept beautifully." Brian beamed over at our guide.

"And you Doll?" He asked.

"I slept terribly the bed was lumpy and someone kept kicking me." I lied.

"You could always come sleep with me; my bed is incredibly soft and big enough for two!" He smirked.

"Well aren't you lucky?" I replied sarcastically.

"So where did you say the kitchen was again?" Brian asked quickly sensing my anger and wanting to get as far away as possible.

"Down the stairs tenth door to the right." Draco answered, obviously not sensing the danger.

"Later." Brian muttered as he dashed down the stairs away from me.

"So how was your night, Doll?" Draco drawled doing an awkward 'back you into the wall' kind of thing.

"Fine. You?" I replied, not caring.

"Lonely." He smirked.

"Poor kid, maybe if you made a friend that wouldn't be the case." I smiled.

"Why don't you and I go back to bed?" He whispered as my back hit the wall.

"What?" I asked, appalled at his question yet somehow slightly excited by it.

"You heard me." He muttered leaning down so our faces were inches apart. My heart starting beating fast and I could barely think straight, he was about to kiss me. I couldn't think I needed to breathe.

"Get off me Malfoy." I said trying to push him away unsuccessfully.

"Or what?" He asked not taking the hint and leaning in closer.

"Or I injure something very precious to you." I replied looking down at his crotch, he took the hint.

"I didn't know you were so feisty in the mornings." He drawled as I walked away from him towards the stairs.

"I didn't know you were so hormonal in the mornings." I drawled back turning around only to catch him staring at my backside. "My ass isn't even close to where my eyes are."

_Is it possible to actually like the man you marry?_

GHDM

I don't know what came over me, but something about the combination of sweatpants a tight shirt and waking up to Gwendolyn Hasting made me want nothing more than to snog her senseless. Watching her tight bum as she retreated towards the kitchen I couldn't help but smirk to myself; she had wanted me to do it, I was sure. Something about how close we were set her off and that's why she pushed me away so fast. _Witches, _I thought while rolling my eyes and going to follow her.

Most of breakfast was spent in silence, except for the occasional off handed comment but no real conversation. Blaise and Brian looked like they were slowly undressing each other with their eyes and Gwendolyn wouldn't even look at me for the whole meal. I guess I should feel bad about angering her, but she looked so beautiful when she was angry. _Cut it out Malfoy,_ I thought to myself. Then I heard a tapping at the window and realized the date August 25th, only a week away from school.

"Hogwarts letters!" Blaise shouted as he jumped up to get them.

"The last one's we'll ever get." I muttered grabbing the letter passed over to me and opening it.

"HEAD BOY!" Blaise shouted jumping up as he did a weird little victory dance.

I did my best to hide my disappointment at the announcement, although he was my best friend and I was happy I couldn't help but feel a tinge of jealousy at his happy news. My father would have been so proud to have a son as head boy, maybe he may have even boasted about me to his colleagues at work but I may never know. Opening my letter I was met with extreme happiness that made me forget all about head boy as the quidditch captain's badge tumbled out of the envelope.

"QUIDDITCH CAPTAIN" I shouted joining in on Blaise's happy dance.

"Isn't this cute?" Brian muttered to Gwen.

"Dance with me Doll!" I said grabbing her hand and pulling her to my chest.

"I don't want to!" She protested attempting to pull away.

"I don't care!" I answered back, not loosening my hold on her as I began to twirl her around. Eventually she quit fighting and started dancing with me too, even laughing.

"I'm going to be sick!" She laughed as I continued turning her around and around.

"No you won't!" I laughed back. Then I tripped. We tumbled to the ground and I shifted us so that I would land against the hard woods and she could fall on top of me. The ground hit me hard knocking out my breath and then she hit me again knocking out whatever was left.

"Oaf!" She sputtered looking up to see if I was all right and realizing how close we were. "Are you…" she trailed off. We stared into each other's eyes, neither of us daring to break our gaze.

"Are you ok?" I asked not even blinking.

"Perfect." She whispered back still staring into my eyes.

I reached up and brushed a stray curl from her forehead to behind her ear causing her breathing to hitch. "Sorry." I muttered not meaning it at all and not daring to break my gaze.

"Don't worry about it." She muttered back leaning down so she was close to my face, close enough to kiss.

"GET A ROOM!" I heard someone shout, breaking us both out of our reservoir.

She sat up as fast as lightening and I felt a weight lifting off my chest, something I wasn't too fond of mind you. Glaring at my best friend I stood up brushing off my backside. "We were in one." I glared.

"Not alone." Blaise smirked back.

"Whatever." I continued glaring until I was sure he should have burned at the stake.

The tension could have been sliced with a knife, and I was almost thankful for what came next, almost.

"So, Brian and I are going to go shopping today!" Gwen said breaking my glare. "You boys can have some time to hang out."

"Awesome." Blaise smirked. It wasn't awesome at all _cheeky bastard._

"When is Narcissa coming home?" she asked.

"She wants you home for dinner, dress nice, it's a formal affair." I answered. "7:00 sharp."

"Great. I'll see you then." She smiled turning to rush out the door.

"Doll!" I shouted, attempting to halt her retreat.

"Yeah?" She asked.

"You've got cream on your cheek." I replied stepping to her side and bringing my hand up to wipe it. "Just there."

"Thanks." She blushed. It was a beautiful color, crimson and it made her look like a school girl caught in the act of doing something awful, I liked it.

"See you at seven then." I smirked.

"See you at seven." She replied blushing again and grabbing Brian's hand as he waved a quick goodbye to Blaise.

_Today was going to be a long one._

GHDM

We didn't go shopping. Brian and I don't shop. Occasionally we would go thrifting, but that was a completely different experience. Shopping was our code. When Brian and I went 'shopping' we really just talked about what was going on, and with our love lives the way they were now we definitely needed some 'shopping'.

"See you at seven." Brian mocked as we barricaded our elves in my bedroom. "You totally have a thing for him."

"I do not."

"You do too!" He refuted "First you two go on your date, and then Blaise finds you behind the curtain, and no that thing in the kitchen! If you don't have a thing for him then you need to see a doctor because you my friend are insane!"

"I do not have a thing for Draco Malfoy! He's arrogant and rude and he's a total smart ass-"

"He's gorgeous, and he's built like a god, and don't forget the fact that he _totally has a thing for you too!" _He practically shouted at me.

"He does not have a thing for me! We are just trying to get along with one another!" I practically bellowed back.

"I wish I was trying to get along with him in that case." He muttered.

"Shut up."

"Lyn! He's handsome, smart, and athletic and he has the potential to be a nice guy." He reasoned.

"Yeah, when he's not busy being an ass hole." I spat.

"You like him, just admit it!"

"Why admit something that isn't true?" I asked avoiding his question.

"Do you like him?" Brian asked for real this time.

"As much as one can like rain in the middle of December." I answered.

"Then I'll leave you alone." He said crossing his arms and sitting down on my bed.

The truth is I didn't know whether or not I liked Draco. There were times, like this morning and last night, when I wanted to snog him senseless. And there were times, like this morning and our family dinner, when I wanted to punch his brains out. Men were crazy.

I was close to pulling my hair out when a huge eagle landed on the windowsill and began pecking at the glass.

"Letters." I jumped up nudging Brian as I ran towards the window.

"Already?" He asked joining me as I untied the packages from the eagle and it flew away.

"YEP!" I smiled handing him his. "On three."

"One" He muttered.

"Two." I counted.

"THREE!" We said together, ripping into the envelopes and beginning to read the contents.

_Dear Gwendolyn Hasting,_

_It is your final year at The Performing Arts School of Magic and we are pleased to tell you that this year you have been chosen to play the following parts in our productions this year:_

_Hairspray: Penny Pingleton_

_Les Miserables: Fantine_

_In the Heights: Nina Rosario_

_Into the Woods: Witch_

_Camelot: Queen Guinevere _

_Chicago: Roxy Hart_

_We hope you are happy with the results of this year's casting. There will be student directed shows going on throughout the year that all students are welcome to audition for. Music, voice, dance, and acting teachers may choose to put on showcases of their own they may ask you to audition for as well. We hope you have a safe and pleasant journey back to the city as you come for your final year. Have a pleasant day._

_Jonathan James Cross _

"Trade?" Brian asked.

"Love to." I replied handing my list over to him and squealing at the results.

"Why are we always in love?" I asked laughing.

"We have great chemistry." He winked smiling over at me.

His list had included roles like Seaweed in _Hairspray,_ Benny in _In the Heights _and King Arthur in _Camelot _all of them were romantic interests for my characters.

"Why do you always get cast as the black guy? You're blonde." I asked.

"I've got soul!" He joked until I fixed him with a serious look "All the guys in our department are white, that's why!"

"We have to celebrate!" I shouted.

"Ice cream?" Brian asked.

"ICE CREAM!" I shouted jumping up on the bed in celebration.

"Let's invite the boys." Brian suggested as he changed into shorts.

"Let's not!" I muttered getting down off the bed and rummaging in the closet to find a pair of jean shorts.

"Please? I really like Blaise and he won't just leave Draco alone." Brian pouted, sticking out his bottom lip for emphasis.

"I hate you." I stated pulling out my favorite pair of shorts and slipping them on. "We can invite them, but I won't like it."

"I love you!" Brian shouted pecking my cheek and dashing out of the room before I could think to protest.

_Today was going to be a long one. _

GHDM

**Hey lovelies! Tell me what you think about it so far in a review. What do you think is gonna happen next? I'd love to hear from everyone! **


	4. Chapter 4

"Do you want to get some ice cream?" A simple question. A question like that deserved a simple answer, a yes or a no. Maybe a no coupled with an excuse or a yes with enthusiasm and a suggestion for what to do afterwards. But when Gwendolyn Hasting knocked on my door Tuesday afternoon in short shorts, a black t-shirt with lyrics from some show across the chest, a blue purse, and converse sneakers I was a t a loss for words. I was not struck speechless by the question; Draco Malfoy is never stumped on a question, but struck instead by her beauty. There I had said it. Even in a baggy t-shirt and shorts that were speckled with paint, something she had done herself, and her hair pulled back into a tight ponytail I was still struck by her beauty.

My past girlfriends had never worn something so casual, and would have never even thought of seeing me without a speck of makeup on as Doll was now. Doll, my own Doll. She looked beautiful without even a trace of trying, and it intrigued me more than anything in the world. She was beautiful, and she was all mine.

"Earth to Draco?" She said, jerking me out of my thoughts. "Do you want to come get ice cream with Blaise, Brian and me?" _Damn, Everyone was going_ "Hello? Geez Draco, are you always this spacey."

"Only around beautiful women like you." I smirked pulling myself together at the last second, _get it together Malfoy._

"Is that a yes?" She asked, obviously still irritated with my display from this morning.

"Of course!" I stated "Give me a second, you can come in and wait if you like."

I turned around leaving the door wide open and walked over to my closet to pull out my favorite pair of trainers giving me just enough time to shake off my stunned façade and pull myself together before I had to look at Doll again. _Keep it together Malfoy._

"Nice room." I heard her say as I was tying my laces.

"It's all right." I supplied standing up and noticing that she was checking out my butt "You know my ass is now where near my eyes, Doll."

She blushed. My favorite color was slowly becoming that blush. It spread over her cheeks starting at her nose and traveling across her face until it stopped at the roots of her hair. The only thing that rivaled it was her eyes. The deep blue, almost navy, made me think of the deep ocean where nothing ever stirred. But they did stir, they showed her anger and her passion, they showed her happiness and laugh, they were the most beautiful thing in the world; my world.

"You're cute when you blush." I smirked going to grab my wallet from my night stand.

"I wasn't-"She started

"Don't even try denying it Doll." I smirked causing her to blush even more "Not everyone can resist the Malfoy charm."

"I can." She stated, giving me a light hit on my arm as I held it out for her to take.

"I'll believe it when I see it." I replied "Shall we?"

"We shall." She blushed again _God she's beautiful_ "the boys are down stairs waiting. I think Blaise said that we have to go to the shop in Diagon Alley."

"It's one of the best." I threw in.

"As good as the one last night?" She asked surprised.

"Maybe not." I laughed, she joined in.

"We'll have to see then won't we?" She smiled guiding me towards that stairs.

"I guess we will." I smiled back turning to face her and realizing just how close she was.

I heard her breath hitch, and I could feel my heart rate quicken. Reaching my hand towards her chin, I lifted it up to my face going for it. I gently leaned forward and we were centimeters apart.

"OY! YOU TWO!" Blaise shouted forcing us to jump apart like two guilty convicts, _Damnit Zambini. _

"We should get down stairs." Gwen muttered, not breaking eye contact.

"Yeah." I whispered back.

She turned away from me, rushing down the stairs at full speed, giving me a nice view _so close._

"Come on!" She said turning to face me and noticing my stare "You know my ass is now where near my eyes."

"Are you sure?" I asked receiving a playful raspberry.

"Last one downstairs pays!" She shouted rushing down the stairs and forcing me to follow. We raced down the stairs, and I let her win in the end. "WINNING!" she sang as she did a weird little victory dance that had us all laughing in a second.

"Let's go! I want ice cream!" Brian whined breaking everyone out of our happiness.

"Come on luv, you can side-along with me." Blaise smirked holding out his arm for the boy to hold on to.

"Do I get to side-along with you, Draco?" Doll asked giving me a puppy dog kind of look that made me want nothing more than to snog her senseless.

"You can do anything you want with me, luv. Free of charge." I smirked.

"Good to know." She nodded taking my arm and walking outside where we could apparate.

I envisioned to ice cream shop in Diagon alley and with a loud pop we appeared in the alley way right next to it causing Doll to stumble and push me against a wall.

"If you wanted some alone time, all you had to do was ask." I smirked down at her.

"Please?" She whispered so low that if I wasn't listening I may not have heard it at all. She had caught me by surprise and when I looked down to see if she was serious, I could see in her bright blue eyes that she was. Then I leaned down so close that I could feel her warm breath against my lips, and just as I ventured closer to brush my lips against hers I heard the shrillest irritating voice in the world.

"DRAKIE POO!" _MOTHER F- "_OH MY GOSH! How are you?"

"Busy." I muttered so low that only Gwen could hear causing her to smile at me in response and quirk a questioning eyebrow in the direction of our newest arrival.

"You have not replied to a single letter that I have sent you this summer!" Pansy Parkinson grumbled.

"I've been busy." I replied trying walk away, but failing.

"Drakie! Where's my hello kiss?" She asked in her irritating whinny voice.

"With someone else." I replied trying, and failing, once again to get away from her.

"Why are you so mean to me, Drakie? You know that one day we are going to be married and I will be that mother of you children and-"

"Hi there, I'm Gwendolyn Hasting. Draco's fiancé!" the woman I was with intoned holding out her left hand, where my ring was, for Pansy to shake.

"Your what?" Pansy asked, looking as if she was about to cry.

"Fiancé." Gwen replied. "You mean Drakie didn't tell you? We've been together, for what two months now?"

"Yes, two months." I lied, thanking God this woman as an actress.

"Well as you can imagine it was only a matter of time before our parents realized what a great match we were and had the lawyers draw up a contract. You know pureblood parents; marriages always have to be their idea!" She laughed. "Well I'm sure you two have a lot of catching up to do, so I'll just leave you to it!"

"What?" I asked, astonished that she would leave me alone with this nut case.

"I'll meet you inside the ice cream shop." She smiled, standing up on tip toes to reach my cheek and pecking it, but not before whispering into my ear "Pay back, for this morning." And walking away.

I watched her go, her hips swaying in a 'I just got my way' fashion and her pony tail bobbing up and down making me want to run my hands through her hair and pull her back against my chest to get a taste of those sweet looking lips of hers.

_Geez Draco. Keep it together._

GHDM

"You are a terrible person." It was a simple sentence. It had no use for a comma or semi colon. It was a direct thought. It was a very easy to understand statement really. So then why couldn't I get my brain to reply? I had my answer. Draco Malfoy was why. He was so annoyingly hot. He had longish blonde hair that he would brush away with a flick of his head and he had a certain air about him that just screamed 'look at me'. He was an annoying prick. His head was so big that sometimes I wondered how he walked through doors without hitting it. But, he had lips that just taunted me and when he pressed his body against mine my heart raced while pumping all the blood in my body to my face.

He'd called me beautiful a number of times today, every one of them in jest, but something about the way his lips formed around the e and a coupled with his thick accent made me practically swoon. I was being pulled in a new direction _and I think I like it._

"It was pay back; you were rude this morning so I can be rude back." I replied at last finally getting my brain to work properly.

"Well I can't believe that you just left me with her." He yelled "Look at this!" He pointed to his cheek where bright red lipstick was smudged across it. "She tried to kiss me."

"If I didn't know any better I'd think you were cheating on me Drakie." I pouted sticking out my lip and doing a near perfect impression of the Pansy girl.

"That name! You don't even know how many times I told her not to call me that, it was awful." He pouted moving up to the case of the ice cream and motioning me to place my order.

"A double scoop of mint-chocolate chip and chocolate please." I smiled at the older man as he went to scoop it out.

"Make that two." Draco added pulling out a few galleons to pay the man with.

"There you are miss." The man smiled handing me my cup. "I remember when I was young and in love, ah such memories."

"Oh we're not-"I started.

"Of course not." He winked at me handing Draco his ice cream and taking the coins from him.

"Thank you." I muttered walking with Draco towards the table Blaise and Brian were sitting at, making googly eyes at each other. "Aren't they cute?"

"Adorable." Draco replied with disdain.

"Come on Drakie, you know their precious. Oh I know what the problem is; you want to be with Pansy." I teased taking a bite of my treat as we sat down.

"Mention that name one more time and something bad happens." Draco muttered darkly.

"What name?" Blaise asked.

"Pansy Parkinson." I answered, receiving a spoon full of chocolate ice cream to the cheek. "HEY! What was that for?"

"I said something bad would happen, didn't I?" Draco replied.

"That was mean!" I shouted back looking for a napkin to wipe the chocolate off of my face.

"He did tell you Lyn." Brian quipped, _not helping Bri. _

"Whatever." I said rolling my eyes and wiping the sticky chocolate from my face.

"You've got some right there." Draco pointed by my lip.

"Did I get it?" I asked wiping where I thought he had pointed.

"Nope." He replied pointing closer to my mouth

"How about now?" I asked again, receiving a shake of his head.

"Allow me." He said leaning forward and using his tongue he licked my cheek where the ice cream was. "Yummy." He smirked leaning back and watching my deep red blush spread across my cheeks.

"Get a room you too." Blaise joked tossing a napkin at his best friend.

"You first." Draco quipped tossing it back.

I couldn't speak. Did he just do what I think he did? My cheek burned where his mouth had just been. I was embarrassed, mortified even. How dare he think that was ok! Draco Malfoy could not just do whatever he wanted whenever he wanted it, that's not how things worked. And the worst part of it all, the thing I was most embarrassed about, was the fact that I wanted so badly for him to do it again.

_Geez Gwen. Keep it together. _

GHDM

"I love the smell of bookshops." I heard Gwen whisper as we walked into Flourish and Blots after ice cream.

"The smell of bookshops?" I repeated, rather confused at the statement.

"Yes, the smell. They always smell like, I don't know, books! Fresh parchment and ink, come on you know what I mean!" She sputtered.

"No, I have no idea." I smirked down at her.

"I wonder if they have a plays section." She murmured, walking off leaving me to follow behind; _not a bad view._

She turned a corner and I heard a sudden "Aha!" signaling that she had found what she was looking for. "They have Shakespeare!"

"I love him." I said turning the corner to see that we were alone, in the back of the shop.

"You do?"

"Of course." I stated "What is in a name, that which we call a rose? By any other name would smell as sweet."

"You can quote him?" She asked.

"It does wonders with the ladies" I winked.

"We should be wood and were not made to woo." She smiled.

"Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears!" I continued on, humoring her.

"A horse, a horse! My kingdom for a horse!" She laughed.

"Journeys end in lovers meeting." I flirted, stepping closer to her.

"O! What men dare do." She rolled her eyes.

"We that are true lovers run into strange capers; but as all is mortal in nature, so is all nature in love mortal in folly."I whispered bringing my face lower so we were almost at eye level.

"Get thee to a nunnery!" She whispered leaning closer to my face too.

"Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?" I asked, whispering against her lips that were just millimeters from my.

"Just kiss me." She whispered instead, and then just as I leaned in a brushed my lips against hers I heard the most angering sound in the world.

"Malfoy?" _YOU ARE SO F- "_Is that you?" _I will castrate you and throw you- _"We thought it was!"

"Are these your friends Draco?" Doll asked, looking in my eyes and seeing my obvious irritation.

"Yes." I seethed, pulling myself together and fixing Crabbe and Goyle with the most menacing of glares.

"Where are my manners, I'm Gregory Goyle, but you can call me Greg." The taller and fatter of the two smirked smoothly at my fiancé.

"It's a pleasure." She answered shaking his hand, obviously amused at his obvious flirting.

"I'm Vincent Crabbe." The shorter one said smirking once again at my fiancé.

"This is Gwendolyn Hasting, my _fiancée." _I said, putting extra emphasis on the last word.

"But you can just call me Gwen." She smirked, subtly mocking the earlier introductions.

"You got engaged?" Goyle asked.

"And she's hot!" Crabbe said, subtle as always.

"Yes, and we were busy so if you don't mind-" I started.

"It's fine Draco. You can catch up with your friends I don't mind!" Doll smiled _I don't want to._ "I'll meet you outside in twenty minutes."

"Are you sure?" I asked, silently begging her to say no.

"Positive." She beamed _Damnit woman._

"Meet you outside in twenty minutes," I muttered turning to give her a peck on the cheek, only to see her blush again.

"I'll be here." She turned away, attempting to hide her bright red cheeks.

I smirked as I turned around, loving how I could make the woman blush with a simple kiss on the cheek. _I have swag, _ I thought to myself. The high was immediately cut down when I remembered who I would have to kill twenty minutes with.

"So she's pretty hot man!" Goyle joked as we walked out of the bookshop and into the Quidditch store just down the street.

"Where'd you find her? I wouldn't mind getting one for myself." Crabbe laughed, giving Goyle a high five.

"Our mothers were school friends or something." I answered while eyeing the new copy of _Quidditch Today_.

"She goes to Hogwarts?" Goyle asked, obviously trying to make some sort of connection.

"No, some school in America." I answered again, trying to shake the two leeches.

"You get head boy?" Crabbe asked, obviously bored with my love life.

"Nope, Quidditch Captain." I replied.

"Even better! Our team is going to _kill it_ this year!" Goyle fist pumped, nearly knocking over a broom display in the process.

"I know." I smirked, picking up a copy of _Quidditch Today_ and walking over to the register to pay for it.

"Have you seen Parkinson?" Crabbe asked.

"She met Doll earlier." I answered fishing the 5 sickles and a nut out of my pocket to pay for the magazine.

"Who's Doll?" Goyle asked.

"Oh, Gwendolyn." I replied, forgetting that they didn't know about my m=nickname for her.

"You guys have pet names?" Crabbe laughed.

"No, I have a name that only I am allowed to call her. That is not a pet name!" I seethed, growing tired of the two boys.

"That's a pet name mate!" Goyle laughed.

"Looks like our twenty minutes is up, I guess I'll be seeing the two of you at school then." I said, not bothering to wait for a reply as I stormed out t=of the quidditch shop and down the street to meet Doll. As I opened the door to flourish and Blots I saw her in line with a book in her hands. "That's it?" I asked.

"Yep, it's my favorite." She smiled, showing me the cover. _The Tempest._

"I haven't read that one." I muttered when I realized that the title didn't ring a bell.

"You have to read it! It's my all time favorite." She gushed as we made our way to the front of the line.

"One galleon." The clerk smiled as he looked at Gwendolyn's purchase.

"I've got it." I said as she reached into her pocket for money.

"You don't have to do that." She quipped as I handed the galleon to the man.

"I want to." I replied taking her hand and walking out of the store.

"Thank you." She smiled, following me down the street to one of the apparation points.

It was a silent walk, but a comfortable silence that needed no fillers. It was perfect.

_This is easy._

GHDM

The walk was silent, up to my room. I didn't feel the need to fill in the gaps, they needed no fillers. AS we walked up the stairs I smiled to myself thinking _No guy has ever insisted on walking me to my door before._ It was sweet the way he did things,_ maybe chivalry wasn't dead after all. _

"It looks like this is your stop." He joked as we reached my stop.

"It looks like it." I smiled, turning to face me. "Thanks for the book, and ice cream."

"Thanks for putting up with my irritating friends all day." He replied.

"I thought it was part of some conspiracy for a while there." I laughed.

"Me too." He agreed.

"I should go change, dinner is in an hour." I said, turning towards my door.

"Wait." He nearly shouted, forcing me to turn around.

"What?"

Then he did it. He put his arm around my waste and pulled me closer to his chest causing my breath to catch in my throat. "I've been dying to do this all day." He whispered, brushing his warm breath against my face. Then he brought his lips down to mine in a sweet kiss. They were soft and they molded to mine instantly. I brought my arms up to his neck and let them rest there as we continued kissing. I felt safe, it was perfect.

_This is easy._

GHDM

**Hey lovelies! SO this chapter has taken me FOREVER to write, but they finally kissed. Sorry I teased you for so long but it was for my own amusement (muahahaha). Thanks for reading! Drop me a review, Good or bad, I'd love to hear from everyone ;). **


	5. Chapter 5

The week passed quickly, and uneventfully. Draco had been sweet, but we hadn't kissed again and I seemed to me that Brian and Blaise were doing nothing but. Narcissa had spent every waking moment talking about plans for the upcoming wedding "Only one year!" She constantly twittered. I only saw Lucius at meals and he never spoke to me. The week was filled with outings to restaurants and small shops, and I had even dragged Draco to a mini golf place that I knew of which provided me with hours of amusement and tons of blackmail. Yes, the week had passed by quickly and suddenly it was time to head back to America and to school for my final year.

"I think that's everything." I said to myself surveying the room one more time before shrinking my trunk and sticking it into my pocket.

"Leaving already?" A deep voice drawled from behind me.

"It's time for school." I stated, picking up my blue backpack that was filled with my carry on items.

"When do you come back?" He asked, walking towards me and taking the bag from its spot on my shoulder.

"Summer," I answered, "I promised Brian's mother that I would come for Christmas."

"You mean you would leave me alone with my _mother_ on Christmas?" He groaned.

"We can always write." I gloated holding my hand out to retrieve my backpack.

"Oh no, a gentleman never makes a lady carry her own bags." He goaded.

"I feel so useless around you sometimes!" I complained.

"Well you're not." He said, taking my hand in his and starting out the door. "Wait!" He stopped suddenly "I almost forgot." He said as he reached into his back pocket and pulled out _The Tempest_ "You were right, it is his best work."

"Wait, can I hear that again?" I joked, leaning my ear closer to his face.

"It is his best work?" He asked, confused.

"The part before that." I back tracked.

"I almost forgot?" He said again, still not catching on.

"It was just after that."

"You were right." He laughed, finally catching on.

"I like that phrase, mind saying it again?" I smiled.

"Never." He answered taking my hand and leading me out the door.

"We'll see about that." I joked, following him down the hall and towards the front door where we could apparate to the airport in muggle London. "Have you seen Brian?" I asked, realizing that I had completely forgotten about my best friend.

"He and Blaise are off somewhere, he said that they would meet us downstairs at 2." He answered, rolling his eyes at our friend's antics.

"It's 2:15." I realized.

"I know." He smirked, leading me down the stairs to find Narcissa waiting at the bottom.

"Oh my Dear you just have to come for Christmas, it wouldn't be the same without you!" The older woman gushed, pulling me into a tight hug.

"I can't, Narcissa, I promised Brian's mother that I would spend it with them this year. It's kind of a tradition." I apologized.

"Oh, you wound me so!" She joked "Well, I suppose that we will have to just write back and forth to plan the wedding then."

"Why don't you and my mother just plan the wedding without me?" I suggested. "Do whatever you like; just make sure the colors are blue and yellow. And I want daisies, everywhere."

"Oh! That's just perfect!" She beamed, obviously loving her new found freedom.

"I'll see you in May then." I smiled, giving her a quick peck on each cheek.

"Goodbye dear!" She smiled waving as she walked back into the house, excited to start planning.

"Do you realize that you've just created a monster?" Draco whispered into my ear.

"At least she won't be bugging me all year." I shrugged turning around to face him.

"Whatever you say sweetheart."

"I didn't have a terrible time this week." I said to him "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"You will write, won't you?" I asked, hoping that he would.

"Of course I'll write. Things will get quite boring without your smile." He answered, stepping closer to me.

"Have a good year Dray." I smiled at him, taking a step closer so that our chests were almost touching.

"You too, Doll." He smiled back. Then he leaned down and captured my lips in a heart melting kiss that sent butterflies through my stomach and caused my face to turn bright red.

"OI, GET A ROOM!" I heard a shout from behind Draco and turned to break our kiss but found that my fiancé wouldn't let me. In response to the protester he pulled me even closer to his chest and wordlessly asked for entrance to my mouth with his tongue, which I gladly allowed. I brought my hands up to his neck where I let them rest, gently tugging on his hair causing him to kiss me even harder.

"I think I'm going blind." I heard someone mutter from behind me, and this time Draco finally let me free.

"Then leave." He shot at our audience, before capturing my lips in another kiss just as passionate as the one before. I was becoming light headed, and my neck was starting to ache from reaching up for so long. Draco must have read my mind, because then he leaned down even farther and picked me up so that we were both more comfortable.

"We have to go Lyn!" Brian sang, but I paid him no mind, instead choosing to continue my mini snogging session with Draco. "Our plane leaves in 30 minutes." He tried again, getting my attention this time.

"I have to go." I broke the kiss, pulling back to look into Draco's eyes.

"I know." He muttered, looking like a kid being dragged out of a candy store without a treat.

"Write me." I requested, as my feet finally hit the floor again.

"Every day." He promised, still not letting me go.

"I'll see you in May, Dray."

"I'll see you in May, Doll." He repeated, finally letting me go.

"Bye Blaise" I waved up at the boy across the hall.

"Bye Gwen. It's been fun!" He smiled walking over and giving me a tight hug.

"Have a good year, and keep Draco out of trouble." I joked sternly.

"I make no promises." The boy smirked.

"I resent that." My fiancé glowered.

"Come on, Bri, we have a plane to catch." I gestured towards my best friend.

"Shall we?" He asked holding out his arm, causing me to laugh at his antics.

"We shall. Bye boys!" I waved.

"Bye!" They chorused as we walked out the doors and apparated to the airport.

"That got pretty hot and heavy." Brian joked as we stood in the security line.

"Oh bite me." I muttered, walking through the scanner and receiving the OK from the guard.

"I think someone beat me to it."

"You're such a hormonal _freak!_" I laughed; pulling on my TOMS and grabbing my backpack form its plastic container.

"Guilty." He laughed while following my example.

"Promise that this year will be the best ever." I looked at him, as we made our way to our gate.

"Pinky swear." He answered holding out his pinky which he wrapped around mine.

_Let the best year ever begin._

GHDM

The remaining days at the manor passed with an emptiness I couldn't quite describe. I had never realized just how lonely one could be in my manor. Blaise had left after Doll and Brian, opting to spend his last two days of summer break with his mother and her current husband. I rarely saw my mother except at meals; she was busy planning the wedding with Genevieve. My father was off attending to some sort of business everyday and so I spent the last days of break in the library reading my least favorite play ever written _Romeo & Juliet._

Finally September 1st arrived, signifying the beginning of the end of my childhood. My trunk had been packed far in advance and I had said goodbye to my mother at the Manor, opting to apparate myself to Kings Cross. After pushing my way through hundreds of irksome students I found the compartment that my friends and I would sit in for the last time.

"Draco! It had been MUCH too long!" Blaise gushed loudly, and dramatically, as he walked in.

"It's been three days." I said, not amused.

"You ruin all of my fun." The dark skinned boy grumbled.

"I try." I mumbled, watching out the window as everyone began to make their way onto the train before it left. The compartment door was shoved open again, revealing another Slytherin friend of mine.

"Morning, Gents. It seems that everywhere else is full, mind if I sit here?" Theodore Nott drawled as he shoved his trunk on the rack above Blaise's head and shook both of our hands in greeting.

"Do we have much of a choice?" Blaise joked.

"No." Theo answered as he sat down. "So, Drake, word on the street is that someone has a new girlfriend."

"Who told you that?" I asked, dodging the question.

"Crabbe, who do you think? Now, _who is it?"_ he asked again.

"I don't have a girlfriend." I answered truthfully _well we aren't dating exactly._

"You have a fiancé, that's the same thing." Blaise said.

"Fiancé, Crabbe said girlfriend!" Theo nearly shouted.

"It was arranged by our parents." I sighed as I answered his question at last, "I'd never met her before."

"Who is it?" Nott asked again.

"Gwendolyn Hasting." I answered.

"Damn." The boy swore under his breath.

"Do you know her?" Blaise asked.

"We've met. Her brother was a good friend of my brothers." The boy answered. "She's hot.'

"Doll doesn't have a brother." I said confused.

"Not anymore. He died two years ago, mate. Muggle car crash or something." Theo said, "I saw Gwen at the funeral, that girl looked gorgeous even with tears coming out of her nose."

"Stop talking about her like she's a piece of meat, Nott." I seethed. "That's my fiancé you're talking about."

"Sorry, mate." He surrendered, holding his hands up in defense "She may be taken, but I'm not blind."

"Go chase a skirt." I muttered sitting back in my seat as the train moved out of the station.

"I just might." He joked. The door was suddenly slammed open to reveal someone that none of us wanted to see.

"The party has arrived!" Pansy Parkinson squealed as she stood in the doorway looking like a total skank. Her hair had changed since the last time I had seen her, for some reason it resembled Gwendolyn's dark brown curly locks, only Doll looked way better than Pansy ever would. She wore one of those super tight skirts that was so short I could almost see her underwear. It was paired with a low cut and tight shirt that clung to her huge, unnatural, breasts and black stilettos.

"Hello Parkinson." Nott drawled in a bored tone.

"Nott." Pansy nodded in the boys' direction not noticing me, or so I thought. "Drakie!" She rounded on me "I have decided to forgive you for what happened at Diagon Alley last week. We all have lapses in judgment and I think that it's not fair to make you stay with that hideous wench you've been paired with. My father talked to his lawyers and if you let them see the contract they will find you a way out of it. On the condition that you marry me once it's been done."

"Pansy, are you daft? I do not want to ever be with you! You are insane!" I nearly shouted, shoving the witch off of my lap, "Gwendolyn is not a hideous wench, she's gorgeous, and I think it's pathetic that you've charmed your hair to look just like hers. Please leave before you embarrass yourself even more."

"You're going to regret that, Drakie." The girl seethed as she picked herself up off the floor and made her way out of the compartment.

"My name is DRACO!" I shouted for real this time, slamming the door shut for emphasis. When I turned around I was met with applause.

"Beautifully done, mate!" Blaise smiled.

"Maybe she'll leave us alone this year." Theo agreed.

"It's doubtful." I muttered. I sat down and stared out the window in silence. The country side was zooming by us; there were fields as far as the eye could see it was beautiful.

"So how was your summer Blaise?" I heard Theo ask as I reached up into my trunk and took out the play I had been reading since Doll had left.

I zoned out of the conversation through acts three and four, only looking up once to buy a chocolate frog from the trolley lady. It was growing darker and that was when I put the book down to change into my robes, proudly pinning the quidditch captain badge to my robe. I felt nostalgic as we sped past the country side and I saw the castle in the distance. My nostalgia was short lived, for just as I turned my gaze from the window I heard a pecking at it and looked up to find an owl carrying a letter in its beak.

"Who's it for?" Nott asked as I brought the bird in and checked the name on the envelope in its beak.

"Me." I answered, plucking it from the bird and sending it back out the window to the owlery at Hogwarts for some rest.

"Who's it from?" Blaise asked.

"I don't know." I said, growing irritated. "Let me read it and find out."

_August 29_

_Dear Dray,_

_I can't write much right now, we have to leave. The muggles found out about us here and we can't stay. None of us know where we are going, and I'm scared Dray. I just wanted to write to you before I left, to let you know that we can't communicate until it's clear. When we're safe I'll write, I promise. Don't worry about me, I'm fine. Tell Blaise Brian's okay too. I miss you. Stay safe._

_Yours,_

_Doll_

"It's from Doll." I nearly whispered, feeling as if all the air in me had been knocked out by a bludger to the chest.

"Who's Doll?" Theo asked.

"He mean's Gwen, they have adorable little pet names for each other." Blaise answered, sounding like a first year girl talking about her first crush.

"The muggles found them." I stated.

"Is Brian okay?" Blaise asked, sounding worried.

"Everyone's fine. They just can't write at all. She said that it's not safe, so they're being moved." I answered, growing anxious and worried.

"Did she say where they were being moved?" Blaise asked again.

"She doesn't know."

"Who's Brian?" Theo asked, obviously undisturbed by our conversation.

"My boyfriend." Blaise stated, sitting back down in his seat and beginning to bite his nails.

"Since when?" The boy asked again.

"Yeah, since when?" I repeated.

"Since I asked him to be, nosy." Blaise answered. "The train's slowing down."

"We could talk to Snape after the feast, maybe he knows something." I suggested standing to put my play back into my trunk.

"I doubt he'll know anything, but it's worth a try." I shrugged as the train came to a stop. "Let's go." I said as I walked out into the hallway and made my way towards the carriages that would carry us to the castle thinking about Gwendolyn the whole time.

_I wonder what Doll is doing right now. Is she thinking of me?_

GHDM

It was peaceful here, without the students who would no doubt be coming in just moments. I stood in a small classroom with everyone else. PASOM was a small school, with only 200 or so students in all we fit into the classroom snugly. The previous days had been long and stressful.

"_Students," I heard a voice call through the hallways of our school "Pack your things, we have a code BLACK." _

_Panic struck me immediately. BLACK meant madness, BLACK was terrifying, BLACK meant the muggles knew we were here, and they were coming. _

_Everyone was in a panic. Our things were banished into our trunks with a flick of the wand. Beds and drawers, posters and pictures disappeared from their places. I ran downstairs and into the first year dorm to help once my trunk had been shrunk into my pocket. _

"_What do we do?" One girl cried, hand packing everything into her trunk._

"_Allow me." I said picking up my wand and packing everything into her bag. "Go to the main hall; take your friends with you. Be quiet."_

_She did as I said. Giving the room a once over I turned to leave, noticing a notebook on the color and an owl in the corner. I knew it was stupid, and carless, but I had to do it. _

_I wrote the note quickly. It was short and I signed it with his nickname. I sent the bird off and ran down to the main hall, just in time to catch the port key with my classmates._

_For two days we sat in a large house an alumnus owned, until we could find somewhere to house us for the year. It was too small there, ten to a small room barely big enough for two. Tensions ran high, being so close together brought out the worst in us all. Then we got a new home._

I stared into the faces of my peers. Everyone was nervous; we had never had to share our space with others. These people most of us didn't know were very different from us. They had spent their lives learning things that most of us had mastered in our third year. We were nervous.

I took Brian's hand it mine. It was like ice. "It'll be fine." I murmured in comfort, attempting to ease his nerves.

"I know." He whispered squeezing my hand and shooting me a small smile.

"Hush now, artists." Professor Nemeth, our headmaster, scolded. "It is time for the students to arrive. We have been through so much pain these last few days, losing our home is difficult and unfair. But we must rise above, and take advantage of this blessing that has been bestowed upon us. This year we should make friendships, alliances and memories to last us a lifetime. Have a good year, and remember: We are the music-makers, "he started

"And we are the dreamers of dreams,  
>Wandering by lone sea-breakers,<br>and sitting by desolate streams.  
>World-losers and world-forsakers,<br>upon whom the pale moon gleams;  
>yet we are the movers and shakers,<br>of the world forever, it seems." We finished as one. It was a poem written by Arthur William Edgar O'Shaughnessy. He wasn't a student a PASOM; his poem had just become the inspiration and saying of our school when Professor Nemeth had become headmaster.

"Break a leg, this year." The older man winked as he turned around to our teachers and they began discussing something we were not privy to. I turned to Brian and smiled again, knowing that it was best to remain silent he gave my hand another squeeze and sat down on the ground and waited for the call to places. I copied him, as did many others, thinking the whole time about Draco.

_I wonder what Dray is doing right now. Is he thinking of me?_

GHDM

**Thanks SO much for all of the lovely reviews and thank you to everyone who chose to follow this story. I had a harder time writing this chapter for some reason, but I kind of like the way it's turned out. What do think? Leave me a review, they make a happy writer…or so I'm told. I hope you've all had a beautiful week. Love all around!**


	6. Chapter 6

_Gwendolyn Hasting, where are you?_ I thought to myself as Jenner Johnson was sorted into Ravenclaw house. _Are you thinking of me the same way I'm thinking of you?_ I thought again, receiving a weird look from Blaise whom I shrugged off immediately and turned my attention to the sorting again. But of course one's mind never stays to the place one wants it to be in, and for the millionth time since I had sat down I began to picture my fiancés face. The dark brown curls against her pale alabaster skin, I always saw her blushing when I attempted to picture her. A light pink tinged those alabaster cheeks, making it nearly impossible to see the light dusting of freckles across her nose. Her lips were red, like strawberries, and her eyes were blue. They were the bluest blue in the world, in my opinion. One could stare into those eyes for years; he could slowly drown in their depths and be brought to life again by the smile and blush of that beautiful girl. _Damnit Malfoy, get it together._ I thought again as Xavier Paxton was sorted into Hufflepuff.

"You okay, mate?" Blaise whispered from across the table, obviously seeing my head shaking.

"Fine." I answered turning away again.

"He just has a certain bird on his mind, if you know what I mean." Theo winked from his spot next to me.

"Stuff it Nott, before I stuff it for you." I muttered.

"It was a joke, Draco. Calm down." Nott surrendered, returning his attention to the sorting.

"You're sure that you're fine?" Blaise asked again.

"Yes!" I exclaimed, quietly "Now shut up and watch the sorting."

Blaise, not one to take direction easily, shot me a dirty look but did as I asked and watched the kids be sorted. _I'm losing my mind, _I thought to myself. I looked up again, attempting to pay attention, only to find that Jennifer Zane had been sorted into Slytherin. This meant food, which then meant a party;_ maybe I can keep my mind off of her till then_. Yeah right.

"Students, Faculty, welcome back to another wonderful year at Hogwarts." Dumbledore preached, gaining the attention of everyone in the room. "To our new students, I extend my congratulations. This year will be very difficult for us all, I am sure. Mr. Filch has asked me to remind you that the Forbidden Forest is, as its name suggests, forbidden. Now, I can practically hear your belly grumbling but I ask for your attention for just a few moments longer." _Great. _"You are all aware that there are many other schools of magic in the world. These schools have extended s some kind of help in the past and it is only fair that, should they need it, we return the favor. So, in that spirit, this year I have invited a school to come and live with us for the year. They will become your housemates as well. You will eat with them, sleep with them, and become very well acquainted with each and every one of them. Now, I'm sure you're all dying to know what school it is that I've invited this year. Well allow me to introduce the Performing Arts School of Magic from America."

_Son of a bitch._

GHDM

_Draco Malfoy are you thinking of me?_ I thought to myself as my school waited outside the great hall. It's not like I was afraid or anything, just nervous, I had never performed in England. _It's a nice place to debut_, I thought to myself as Brian squeezed my hand in a silent goodbye as everyone else went through the doors without me to begin their little performance.

"Lights up on Washington Heights up at the break of day I wake up and I've got this little punk I've got to-" I heard before the door shut again, leaving me out in the hall in silence.

As a group, everyone had voted on In the Heights as our big number we would perform as an introduction at Hogwarts. The only problem with that was that Nina, my character, wasn't in it. Luckily for me, my teachers were on my side, they decided that after the group sang that piece and sat down with everyone else I would get to sing Breathe. It was one of my favorite songs ever. It was written for me, I believe, the voice part was perfect and the words were so real and true that I wasn't acting at all. It was perfect.

"In the heights! I flip the lights and start my day. There are fights-"I heard again through the doors as everyone began to sing together. _I hope they like it_, I thought again ever the self doubter.

_Keep it together Hasting, you can do this_. Stupid nerves. I rarely got them, but when I did they were bad. My knees would begin to quiver and my hands would shake, but I had to keep it together. I will not embarrass myself. Never.

"NO! NO! NO! NO! Mr. Johnson I got the security deposit its lock in the box in the bottom of my closet It's not collected in my back statement but I've been saving to make a down payment and pay rent. NO! NO! I won't-"I heard Daphne sing. My cue was coming up, oh god I might puke.

"Yeah, I'm a street light choking on the heat-"I heard again. _Oh god. I'm going to be sick._

_You will not puke, understand?_ I thought again. _You are going to kick ass and take names. Got it? Good._ I might be insane. _Breathe, Gwen. Just breathe._

"So turn up the stage lights, We're taking' a flight To a couple of days In the life of what it's like. IN WASHINGTON HEIGHTS!" I heard the final notes being sung.

Then there was a roar. They'd done great, everyone loved them, and I was next. _Oh God._

The doors opened, and I heard the first chords of my song being sung. I gazed across the room, taking it in and began.

"Breathe!" I held closing my eyes and losing myself in the character "This is my street I smile at the faces I've known all my life they regard me with pride and every one's sweet they say 'you're going places' so how can I say that while I was away, I had so much to hide! Hey guys, it's me, the biggest disappointment you know. The kid couldn't hack it she's back and she's walking real slow. Welcome home! Just breathe." Then I took a huge breathe and popped up into the most beautiful chord as the chorus sang in Spanish as backup "Just Breathe! As the radio plays old forgotten boleros, I think of the days when this city was mine. I remember the praise Ay, te adoro, te quiero. The neighborhood waved and said Nina you're gonna be fine. And maybe it's me. But it all seems like lifetimes ago. So what do I say to these faces that I use to know? 'Hey I'm home?"

"Mira Nina" a female voice sang

"Hey" I responded

"No me preocupo por ella" Another voice sang

"They're not worried about me" I sang again.

"Mira, alli esta nuestra estrella" they sang together

"They are all counting on me to succeed." I cried "I am the one who made it out. The one who always made the grade, but maybe I should have just stayed home!" I started belting When I was a child I stayed wide awake, climbed to the highest place, on every fire escape, restless to climb" I continued, over the chorus "I got every scholarship, saved every dollar, The first to go to college, How do I tell them why I'm coming back home, With my eyes on the horizon Just me and the GWB, asking, Gee Nina, What'll you be?" I slowed, regaining my composure.

"Straighten the spine. Smile for the neighbors. Everything's fine. Everything's cool. The standard reply, "Lots of tests, lots of papers." Smile, wave goodbye, And pray to the sky, oh God..." I belted again "And what will my parents say? Can I go in there and say, "I know that I'm letting you down..." I held.

"Nina..." a woman sang

"Just breathe..." I held as the song ended.

There is only one way to know for a fact that you've captured your audience, and it is not by loud cheers and applause. It's by silence. That's what I was met with when the song was over silence. Then as everyone began to realize that I was done and they were supposed to applaud, the place went wild. I did what anyone else would have done in the situation; I gave a small bow, and held a hand out to the musicians and singers who accompanied me and to my fellow students. They all came to meet me at the front of the hall and we gave a group bow in gratitude.

"Now, now, calm down students." An old man with twinkling eyes laughed as the hall began to quiet. "My name is Albus Dumbledore, and I am the headmaster here at Hogwarts. Your teachers may have told you your assignments but I would like to tell my students theirs if that's quite all right with you." We nodded in response. "The students at PASOM are divided into four different majors, not unlike our four houses here at Hogwarts. Their sleeping arrangements this year shall be organized by major. The Hufflepuff house will be housing the musicians." He announced as a house decorated in black and yellow stood to cheer and made room for the oncoming musicians, who wand lessly shrunk their instruments and went to join their new house mates. "The Gryffindor house will be housing the Singers." He said, causing a table of red and gold clad students to cheer and make room for the oncoming hoard of students. "the Ravenclaw house shall be home the Dancers." He smiled again, making another group cheer and make room for the new arrivals. "And last, but not least, the Actors shall be housed in the Slytherin house for this year." He finished, causing a final, much less delighted, group of students clad in green and silver to cheer and make room for us, and there at the center of it all was a head of white blonde hair and grey eyes staring directly at me.

_Son of a Bitch. _

GHDM

_Oh my god. _

Her voice was gorgeous.

It was more than gorgeous it was….well I can't think of a word to describe it. There was no dancing in her song, just her. She walked between the tables as if it were her home town. She stopped in front of the professors table and then turned to belt out her worries. I was amazed. I had never heard something so beautiful and pure. I never wanted to hear anything else ever again.

"Now, now, calm down students." Dumbledore laughed at us. "My name is Albus Dumbledore, and I am the headmaster here at Hogwarts. Your teachers may have told you your assignments but I would like to tell my students theirs if that's quite all right with you." They all nodded, I felt as if they were in on some secret we were not "The students at PASOM are divided into four different majors, not unlike our four houses here at Hogwarts. Their sleeping arrangements this year shall be organized by major. The Hufflepuff house will be housing the musicians." He announced causing the freaks to cheer like losers. "The Gryffindor house will be housing the Singers." He said, causing the table of lions to cheer again. "The Ravenclaw house shall be home the Dancers." He smiled again, making the nerds applaud as well. "And last, but not least, the Actors shall be housed in the Slytherin house for this year." He finished, meaning that we Slytherin were supposed to applaud, which we did with much less enthusiasm. I started searching for her immediately as the group walked towards us, our eyes met across the crowd almost immediately.

She beamed at me, giving a huge wave and grabbing onto Brian's hand as she rushed over to say hello.

"Drake!" She half yelled as she launched herself at me wrapping her arms around my neck as I picked her up and twirled her around, very dramatic I assure you.

"Doll!" I laughed.

"I didn't think we'd be roomies!"

"Just house mates." I corrected.

"Whatever, this means that I don't have to write every day. It was going to be a dreadful pain in my butt." The beauty in front of me complained.

"I didn't mean to inconvenience you, your highness." I teased as I guided her towards my friends.

"It would've been worth it." She winked, earning a glare from the nearby Pansy Parkinson.

"Skank." The pug faced witch spat.

"Pansy Parkinson, is that you?" Gwen asked with excitement. "Oh my goodness, I can't believe it! We get to be roommates! This year is going to be so much fun!"

"Sure it will!" Pansy gushed back, mimicking my fiancé's excited tone. "I can't wait to hear all of the juicy gossip on you and Drakie over there."

"Only if I get to hear the gossip about him, I only know what he and my mother have told me. I'm sure, as his ex girlfriend, you have the scoop."

"Of course." Pansy seethed through a closed jaw.

"See you later then." She waved motioning me to show her where we were sitting.

"What was that?" I asked once we were out of ear shot.

"It's a girl thing. Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer. That girl was eyeing you like a piece of meat Drakie."

"Don't call me that." I said finding my seat in the center of the table, which had lengthened in our absence allowing more room for the new comers.

"Call you what, Drakie?" She asked again.

"That name."

"Drakie."

"Stop it."

"Drakie."

"Don't test me woman."

"Drakie." She whispered into my ear causing me to attack.

"You asked for it." I said pulling her by the waist and tickling her until she had tears on her face.

"TRUCE!" She managed to get out through her giggles.

"Well hello to you too, Gwendolyn." Blaise drawled from his spot across the table.

"BLAISE!" She jumped up attempting to hug him from across the table.

"Later, luv. I wouldn't want my many admirers to get jealous." He drawled causing her to laugh.

"Many admirers my ass." Theo rolled his eyes.

"Nott?" Doll asked.

"The one and only." He smirked over at my betrothed giving her the once over.

"You've changed quite a bit!" She laughed reaching over to give him an awkward hug thing.

"You haven't changed at all." He replied his voice laced with double meaning.

She only smiled, choosing not to reply, but upon noticing my whit knuckles pulled into a fist she took my hand from its spot on top of the table and grasped it in hers underneath.

_Ah, home._

GHDM

Dinner had been uneventful, after the performance. I met a few new faces, none with names that I could remember. I saw a few old faces, which I couldn't recall but played it off well. All the while holding Draco Malfoys hand. He didn't seem like he was much of a hand holder, but he never took his hand back without disappointment when I cradled it in mine. They fit together perfectly, like a glove. It was easy when I was with him. I never felt like I had to try too hard, and I never doubted myself when he was around. I was lucky.

"You all must be very excited to get into bed, for classes begin tomorrow morning!" The old headmaster Dumbledore, I think he'd introduced himself as, addressed the large hall "Congratulations on a new year, new friendships, and new loves." He smiled, and I felt like he was looking near Draco and I with that twinkle in his eye _weird_ "But enough of that. Off to bed, Prefects if you would be so kind as to show the first years to their dormitories. Have a wonderful year."

With a wave of his hand everyone was off. The sound of scraping echoed through the hall and chatter could be heard from everywhere. "Come on." Draco whispered in my ear, "I want to show you something." He pulled me off to god knows where as I followed him like a lost puppy.

"Where are we going?" I laughed as we made yet another turn and found ourselves at a long spiraling staircase.

"Up." He smirked pulling my hand again as he began to climb the stairs.

"What's up there?" I asked again, curiosity killing me.

"It's a surprise."

"What is it?"

"Are you always this curious?"

"Always." I smiled cheekily up at him.

"Come on." He cracked, giving me my first real smile of the night.

I rolled my eyes but followed him nonetheless up the staircase only to find myself in a dark cold room. "Drake?" I called out into the darkness, no reply "Draco?" I tried again, still silence. "Draco Malfoy this is not funny." I scolded, still silence. "I'm going back downstairs." I huffed.

"BOO!" I heard a shout causing me to shriek in terror, only to find my fiancé lying on the floor laughing.

"It's not funny." I pouted.

"yes it is!" He chuckled from his spot below me.

"If I knew how to get to my room I would go there right now." I huffed.

"You're cute when you're mad."

"Stop trying to give me compliments, it's not going to work."

"You have the most beautiful voice that I have ever heard, Gwendolyn Hasting." _Damnit._

"Not going to work." I struggled.

"You looked beautiful, too. How did I get so lucky?" He asked, standing up and walking over to where I was standing with my arms crossed.

"I will not break." I said, turning my head away from him.

"Then you won't get your surprise." He muttered as he lowered his head to my level so that our lips were almost touching. _I hate men._

"Stop trying to seduce me into forgiving you Draco Malfoy it won't work." I said shakily, not even convincing myself.

He chuckled from his spot pressed against me, "It can't be called trying when it's working, can it?"

"I guess not." I mumbled looking up into his blue gray eyes for the first time "So what was the surprise?"

"Come here." He gently took my hand and led me over to a balcony of sorts where I saw my first view of the grounds of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

"Oh my god." I whispered, taking in the view.

"It's my favorite place to come when I need to think, I thought you might like it." He confessed as he slowly wrapped his arms around my waist and rested his chin atop my head, it was a perfect fit.

"I love it." I smiled turning myself around so I could look into his eyes.

"Good." He whispered leaning down to brush his lips against mine. There on top of a tower in front of the most beautiful view I had ever laid eyes on, I stood kissing Draco Malfoy. And as soon as his lips touched mine all I could think was:

_Ah, home._

GHDM

**PHEW! This chapter has taken me FOREVER to write. But have no fear dear readers for I shall continue as best I can! I really hope that you like this chapter (I kind of rewrote it four times…) I'm happy with it. FYI the songs in it are both from the musical **_**In the Heights **_**by Lin-Manuel Miranda, go look them up on YouTube if you get a chance (**_**Breathe **_**is possibly my favorite song in the show). Thank you to all of my lovely reviewers I love you all. Drop me a review and I might attempt to update quicker! Just Kidding...or am I? You'll just have to wait and see. RAGE AND LOVE TO ALL!**


	7. Chapter 7

The first night back at school always began the same way, with lots and lots of alcohol. "All right, Nott, if you had to pick one of the new girls," I began, "who would you shag?"

"Easy." The aforementioned boy sniffed, "That blonde one. Was her name Sarah?"

"Blue shirt, red heels, and a tight mini skirt?" Blaise asked.

"I wasn't looking at her shoes mate." Theo laughed as he took a swig from his firewhiskey.

"Big boobs?" Crabbe asked.

"That's the one." Nott answered.

"Her name is Kathryn; Sarah was the girl sitting next to her who wouldn't give you the time of day." Blaise rolled his eyes.

"Oh yeah, well I'd do Kathryn." Nott shrugged.

"Did you all hear about Puddlemore? They're a shoo-in for the world cup." Goyle asked, changing the subject.

"No way in hell they're going to win!" I protested "Bulgaria's been looking pretty good to me."

"You have no taste in Quidditch, men." Nott stated, "The Holyhead Harpies are looking mighty fine to me."

"You're just saying that because they _look_ mighty fine, not because they _play_ mighty fine Teddy." Blaise groaned, "Besides if any of you knew anything you'd be checking out the Irish this year."

"That's an all male team, Zambini." Crabbe said skeptically

"Like I said, gents, check them out." He winked at us all.

We spent another hour like that, just joking and drinking. We had no cares, no obligations. In that moment we were just school boys in our final year of bliss. I knew that we should have stopped drinking an hour ago, but I didn't voice my concern. We all had classes beginning the next morning, but no one wanted to ruin the fun and ignorance. The five of us sat on the ground laughing and joking, and that's just how we were found two hours later.

"Did we miss the party?" The newcomer asked.

"The party isn't until tomorrow night." I answered.

"Well I hope you don't mind if we get some shut eye. We all have classes tomorrow." Another newbie said.

"Nah, we should be getting to bed soon too." Blaise groaned, standing up and stumbling into Brian in the process.

"Hey there, Blaise." He laughed as he helped the boy stand up straight.

"Brian!" the boy yelled, planting one on the visitor.

"How much have you had to drink?" Brian asked after he'd broken away from my friend.

"Not a lot." He answered.

"Two bottles of firewhiskey." I corrected.

"I can tell." Brian sniffed.

"Well, since it seems like you all know each other, would someone mind introducing us all?" Nott asked in annoyance.

"Oh yeah, that's Brian." Blaise pointed, nearly poking the boy in the face, "and those are Brian's friends."

"I'm Nick," The boy behind Brian waved at us "This is Jonah, Michael and Jenner."

The three boys waved and chorused a few "hello's and "it's nice to meet you's"

"I'm Draco Malfoy." I drawled, succeeding in standing up without stumbling. "It's a pleasure to have you all with us this year. That's Theodore Nott, but you can just call him Teddy we all think he prefers it, over there is Crabbe, no one knows his first name, and then there's his twin Goyle."

"We are not twins." Goyle protested.

"And my first names Vincent, you've known that since first year!"

"And I HATE being called Teddy." Nott seethed.

"You should've introduced yourself then." I smirked.

The new guys laughed at us all and we slowly became more comfortable with them. "So where is PASOM, anyways?" Crabbe asked as we all began to change for bed.

"If we told you, then we'd have to kill you." Nick answered seriously.

"No really, mate. Where is it?" Crabbe asked again.

"It's a secret." Jonah said.

"We can't tell you." Michael stated.

"Well we could." Jenner added.

"Only if we wanted to spontaneously combust." Brian finished.

None of us said anything. There was this eerie silence as they gazed at us from across the room with completely straight faces. We gazed back, more out of confusion and weirdness than fear. Nick was the first to break it.

"Hahaha." He laughed, causing the rest of his group to join in.

"You should have seen your faces!" Jenner breathed.

They all continued to laugh, but none us joined in. We were confused, and freaked out, and quite honestly I was starting to think that they were all on some sort of drug.

"It was a joke." Brian translated for us.

"We could tell you where Possum was located if he wanted to." Jonah added.

"So where is it?" Crabbe asked again, not finding the humor in their display.

"Manhattan." Michael finally answered once the hysterics were done with.

"Where is Manhattan?" Goyle asked.

"You don't know where Manhattan is?" Brian paused in disbelief. As I looked around I realized that the other boy's faces mirrored his. "Lord, get this child a map."

"Manhattan is in New York, it's where Broadway lives." Jonah answered.

Goyle looked around at the rest of us with a look of confusion on his face, and then he mouthed to me 'what's Broadway?' I shook my head and mouthed 'later' back to him, satisfying his curiosity.

"So how do you guys like Hogwarts so far?" Nott asked.

"It's nice," Jenner answered as he slid into his bed.

"No, it's huge. I feel like I'm bound to get lost at least a million times this year!" Brian sighed dramatically as he flung himself onto his bed.

"If you need a tour guide, I'm always here Brian." Blaise slurred in his drunken state.

"Not until you're sober sweetheart." The boy smiled mockingly.

"Where were you guys? Before, I mean." I asked about their tardiness, curiosity getting the better of me.

"We had a meeting with the teachers. You know the standard: be nice, behave, don't do anything stupid, etc. You know the standard teacher stuff." Michael answered.

"Yes we do know." Nott laughed about our earlier meeting with Snape about our guests.

"_Do not be rude, or I will give you detention. If I hear back from someone about one of my students harassing our guests you will have to answer to me, and it will not be pretty." He had drawled, "Now, on another note, at the coming back party you all have every year" he smirked at our expressions of fake confusion, no one knew that the teachers had any idea about our parties "Be sure to invite our knew guests, I'm sure they would love to come and see what they are all missing." He had left shortly after._

"I'm wiped, man." Jenner complained from where he lay on his bed.

"Join the club." Jonah groaned, "Gordon had us doing cardio before we performed to 'get the energy up' or whatever. I thought I was going to puke!"

"You think that sucks?" Michael whined "Gwen made me run ten miles with her this morning! My calves are still screaming. That girl is mad."

"You know Gwendolyn?" I asked, as I turned my attention to their conversation.

"Who doesn't know Gwendolyn Hasting?" Nick said "That girl is going places. She played Maria opposite my Tony last year, and I thought she was actually in love with me the whole time. She's that good… How do you know her?"

"We're engaged." I replied sheepishly.

"So you're Drake." Jonah said as he eyes me up and down.

"It's Draco." I corrected him, only to be ignored by the other boys in the room.

"She wouldn't shut up about you on the flight over here." Jenner sighed in annoyance.

"Now, you seem like a great guy and all but we just have to make one thing very clear, if you break her heart we're going to have to break your face." Michael shrugged.

"Oh, that's nice." I said in shock. Would they actually break my face? I don't think I could live without my face, _could I? _

"Just saying." Michael smiled as he turned around and got into bed.

The room stayed quiet for a while as we all got ready to retire for the night. In their own little corner of the room the PASOM boys were doing a series of stretches on the floors. Their legs were spread out in front of them in a wide v and their chests touches the floor as they stretched their muscles.

"Damn, their flexible." I hear Blaise whisper next to me.

"Don't you have a head boy dorm to be getting to?" I asked.

"I can't go like this." He pointed out.

"Where are you going to sleep then?" I replied.

"The bed next to Brian, the house elves must've miscounted or something." He said.

"They didn't miscount." Brian stated from across the room.

"Then why is there an extra bed in the room?" Nott asked.

"You'll see." Jenner laughed "I've got my bet on ten minutes."

"No way, I've got five." Michael bet.

"Not even, dude. Three." Jonah challenged.

"No guys listen." Nick silenced "Ten galleons say's: three, two, one."

As soon as he said one a dark haired blur flew into the room and straight into Brian's arms. As I looked closer I found out just who this sobbing blur was.

_Gwendolyn Hasting._

GHDM

"DAPHNE!" I heard them all screech as we entered into what would be my room for the next year _if someone behaves that is._

I shared a look with the Kate and Leandra as we made our way over to where our things were sitting at the foot of our beds. The room was big, so big in fact that I thought it could house many more than the 9 it was supposed to. We began to change in silence, getting ready for the night was a silent thing for us. It was a time to relax and reflect on our days. It was kind of an unspoken agreement that before bed, there was quiet. Now, that agreement had been broken. _Damn._

"You must be thrilled to be back at Hogwarts!" Pansy Parkinson gushed, ignoring us.

"I know it's going to be the perfect year!" the two giggled.

"Who are they?" One of the girls asked, Millicent I think.

"That's Kathryn and Leandra." Daphne introduced, forgetting all about me.

"It's nice to meet you." Leandra smiled, she always tried to find the best in everyone.

"Hi there." Kathryn waved, more of an introvert than the rest of us.

"I'm Pansy," the obvious leader introduced, "and that's Millie, over there is Grace, then there's Lena, and Callie is over there."

"It's Calliope." The last girl corrected, as she looked up from her book and shot us a smile, "It's a pleasure."

"Whatever." Pansy rolled her eyes.

I, however, stayed completely invisible during this entire introduction chose to be the bigger person and not get angry for the obvious attempt by my worst enemy to make me feel left out. "I'm Gwendolyn, but you can all call me Gwen." I smiled trying to be nice.

"You sang the song about breathing right?" Lena, I think, asked me.

"Yes, that was me." I shrugged rather sheepishly. Whenever receiving compliments I always felt especially shy.

"You were amazing!" Calliope gushed, actually looking up from the book she seemed so absorbed in.

"Thank you." I blushed.

"Isn't that cute?" Pansy goaded. "When she gets embarrassed she turns into a tomato."

Calliope turned back to her book abruptly, but Lena continued to chat with me. "Did I see you sitting next to Draco Malfoy?" She asked.

"I guess so." I blushed again, completely forgetting about the other girls in the room.

"So you're an item?" Lena egged me on.

"They're an item." Kathryn confirmed.

"Someone had nothing else to talk about the whole plane ride over." Leandra teased.

"So Gwen how was your summer?" Kathryn started, in a mocking tone.

"Well, I met this guy named Drake!" Leandra started, mocking me in a very unforgiving fashion. "He's beautiful, and smart, and funny, and he quotes SHAKESPEARE!"

"I sounded nothing like that!" I laughed.

"That's what you think!" Kathryn giggled, tossing a pillow my way causing the three of us to dissolve into uncontrollable laughter.

"Keep it down over there! Some of us have important plans to discuss." Parkinson bellowed.

"And what do those plans include, Pansy?" Lena asked with venom.

"Getting back the love of my life from a dirty boyfriend steeling whore." She answered matter of factly.

"It doesn't look like it's going to be that hard, in my opinion." Millie added after giving me a once over.

"It'll take two weeks max!" Daphne bet.

I know I should have shrugged the insults off, but they stung. I couldn't hold back the tears that suddenly sprang into my eyes at their mean words.

"I don't even know why Drakie would choose her over me." Pansy sighed.

"She's not even pretty." Millie whispered, well stage whispered in my opinion because there was nothing disguising it.

"Or talented." Daphne added. "She must spend hours on that casting couch, I mean look at the size of that mouth."

"Daphne, that's not true and you know it." Leandra supplied, trying to defend me like she always did.

"When I want your opinion, loser, I'll give it to you." Daphne said.

"Why are you even here, it's quite obvious that Draco is slowly coming back to me." Pansy smirked, her words stinging me once more.

"It will only be a matter of time before he and Pansy start dating again." Millicent shrugged.

"Draco would never want to date a bitch like you." I breathed, my voice was barely more than a whisper but they heard it. There was a short intake of breath and then Pansy stood putting her face close to mine.

"Listen, _Gwendolyn_," She said my name mockingly "Draco and I were deeply in love, until you showed up. We would have been engaged had it not been for a meddling tramp like you. So I am going to make one thing clear, you are not to look at him, touch him or even so much as breathe the same air as him unless you want this year to be hell. For the both of you."

I should have stood and defended myself, but I couldn't. She and Daphne together. They were like twins, cut from the same stone. I knew how to deal with one Daphne, but two was another story. So I did what any other girl would have done. I took out my wand, shrunk my trunk so it would fit into my pocket, and fled. But before I left Daphne added something so cruel, so evil, that it was low even for her.

"You know, if I was your brother I would have driven my car off a bridge too. I'd do anything to put me out of the misery that is living with you."

_In my fourth year Daphne came to PASOM. She was good, an average singer, a decent dancer and a pretty good actress. She was in a word, mediocre. Now, I don't have the biggest of egos but I do know that I am so much more talented that she is. She was from England, and her daddy had paid off the school to have her enrolled. Honestly, no one knew why she was there. She wasn't the best and there was nothing magical about her talents. When the teachers were picking performers for the start of the year concert, I was chosen over her. I think that's where it all started. With a solo. She's made my life a living hell ever since. Whenever I was chosen over her something terrible happened to me. She once put a potion into my shampoo bottle that caused my hair to turn bright pink when I sang, the night before my performance. I was not pleased. It got worse over the years. I had started sleeping in the Dancer's dorm as a way to protect myself, but it didn't help. When my brother died in fifth year, the taunts only got worse, but she never did touch on that subject. This was too much. This was too far._

As I raced down the stairs I couldn't help but let the tears flow from my eyes as I headed to where I knew I was safe. With my boys.

I sprinted up the stairs and entered the door at the top labeled _Seventh Years_ with a bang.

It was silent when I entered but as soon as I saw Brian I went straight to him. He wrapped his arms around me, rocking back and forth, muttering that it was okay. "What happened, Lyn?" Jonah asked.

"Pansy called me a boyfriend steeling slut." I hiccupped into his chest.

"That bitch." Nick seethed from his spot next to Jenner.

"Daphne called me a talentless whore." I sobbed again.

"God this girl needs new insults." Jenner tried to make me laugh.

"Then Parkinson said that if I even breathe the same air as Draco my life will be hell." I cried even more.

"This bitch won't give up will she?" Blaise asked aloud.

"Lyn, stuff like that never bothers you. What did she actually say?" Brian asked, seeing right through me like always.

"She said if she were my brother," I sobbed "She would drive her car off a bridge too," I hiccupped "She said that she would do anything to get away from living with me."

Brian's arms dropped from around me all of a sudden. "That bitch is dead." He seethed, picking up his wand and making a dash for the door.

I didn't stop him. Jenner took Brian's place, he held me tight to his chest and I cried my eyes out even more. "Can I stay with you?" I asked giving my friend a watery gaze when my tears had slowed a little.

"Of course babe." He smiled.

"They already made you a bed." Mike smiled.

"Doll?" Draco asked. It wasn't a question though, more of a statement. He said it with pity, and when I turned around to face him I found that his eyes were full of concern and worry.

"Drake?" I copied. He held his arms out and I ran into them just as Brian came back into the room.

"God damn charm on the stairs. I can't get up them. God this bitch is dead. Who the hell does she think she is?" Brian seethed.

"It's a Hogwarts thing. Girls can come up here but guys can't do up there." Crabbe provided, never one to comment on the emotional occurrences in life.

"Bloody stupid if you ask me." Brian muttered as he sat back onto his bed to steam in silence. "You're not going back in there, do you understand me?"

"Yes." I nodded.

"Good."

"I'm tired." I hiccupped once my tears had dried to sniffles. "I think I'll sleep now."

"Night, Doll." Draco whispered into my hair as he continued to hold me tightly to his chest.

"You know Drake; you have to let me go if you want me to sleep." I said, laughing just a little bit.

"Right." He muttered, barely loosening his hold on me. We stood there for another second as my tears started to flow once again. When he held me it reminded me of when Arthur was still alive. His hugs always made me feel so safe. When Arthur would hug me I felt like there was no evil in the world anymore, it made me feel like a little kid again. That's what hugging Draco felt like.

"I hate to break up this love fest, but since we've got Gwen staying here with us I have no bed to sleep in." Blaise butted in.

"You're a moment ruiner!" Nick muttered under his breath, making Draco and I break apart with sheepish smiles.

"Lyn can sleep with me tonight." Brian offered.

"Okay." I whispered. "My stuff is in their room though."

"No it's over there by your bed."

"Convenient." Goyle said. "How could they have known you'd be sleeping here?"

"Trust me, they know." Jenner muttered as he climbed into bed, the rest of us slowly followed suit, all except for Draco and I.

"You shouldn't let her get to you, she's just jealous." He whispered, as everyone around us was trying to sleep.

"I know." I whispered.

"You never told me you had a brother." He said.

"You never asked." I replied. Then I leaned up and gave him a quick peck on the cheek.

"Goodnight Doll." He muttered as I climbed into bed with Brian, who pulled me close to his chest as I lay down. When my head hit the pillow exhaustion greeted me with open arms. As I entered into unconsciousness there was only one thing, well person, on my mind.

_Draco Malfoy_

GHDM

"_Morning." The beauty next to me whispered as I opened my eyes to the bright light of a new day._

"_Good morning." I whispered back, leaning in to capture her lips in an early morning kiss._

"_Did you have good dreams?" She asked as we parted._

"_Only of you." I answered while placing soft kissed down her neck._

"_No nightmares then." She said._

"_Not when you're in my head." I muttered as I began to kiss lower and lower down her body._

"_Mmmmm…. Draco." She moaned._

"OY! DRACO!" Someone shouted, forcing me out of the wonderful dream in my head. "GET UP!"

"Idontwanna." I groaned, turning onto my stomach and burying my head into my pillow.

"You'll miss breakfast." Blaise tempted me.

"I'll starve." I muttered.

"You won't get your schedule." Nott tried.

"Like I care." I scoffed.

"Geez, Lyn!" Brian shouted, "Put a shirt on!" I shot up in response. "I knew that would work."

"She's not even here!" I yelled in protest, feeling cheated.

"Yes, but you're up and that's all that matters now, isn't it?" Brian teased.

"I'm just going to go back to sleep now." I groaned, falling back onto my pillows and closing my eyes once more.

"Why isn't Draco awake yet?" A distinctly feminine voice asked. "He said that he would walk me down to breakfast."

"I can walk you down to breakfast love." Nott flirted, causing me to get up immediately in response.

"I'll walk you to breakfast." I said once my feet hit the cool stone floor.

"Are you going to go shirtless?" She asked.

"Only if you want me to." I teased.

"Maybe I do."

"Then we should go now."

"Put a shirt on, Draco. No one wants to see that." Crabbe groaned from his spot on the other side of the room.

"Speak for yourself. I'm enjoying the view." Brian muttered.

"HEY!" Blaise shouted.

"I'm taken, not blind." The other boy said cheekily.

"We'll see you all at breakfast, and Draco, please put a shirt on. Some of us have boyfriends to keep." Blaise added, grabbing Brian's hand and ushering the boy out of the room.

"Wait up!" Nick shouted, following them out. "Brian I needed to ask you something."

Slowly everyone else trickled out of the room, making their way down to the great hall for breakfast while I got dressed. "Is that what you're wearing?" I asked.

"Yes, is something wrong with it?" My fiancé asked.

"It's pretty tight, and tiny." I criticized her short tight shorts with tan tights underneath and a tight tank top on her torso.

"I have dance first block, this is what I wear." She said.

"Well do you have to show so much skin?" I asked.

"Its dance, I get hot and it easier to just wear this." She answered.

"Well don't you have a skirt or something to cover it up with? Maybe a jacket." I suggested.

"No." She said.

"Please, just for breakfast."

"Draco, if I wanted your opinion on what I'm wearing I would have asked for it."

"I'm just suggesting that you put on something to cover up your body. I don't want every male at Hogwarts eyeing my fiancé while I'm eating." I said.

"Listen, Draco, as much as I like you I don't think you want to get into this with me right now. It's a fight you're not going to win." She warned.

"Just put on a damn jacket Gwendolyn." I seethed.

"Kiss my ass Draco." She swore; we stood there for a moment glaring at each other in a silence that she broke, "I would storm out but I have no idea where I'm supposed to be going."

"I'll show you where to go once you put on a jacket." I bargained.

"I'll put on a jacket when you stop being an ass." She mocked.

"That was uncalled for." I said.

"Forget it, I'll just figure out where to go by myself." She turned and picked up her bag as she dashed through the door and down the steps leaving me alone in the room to seethe in silence.

It wasn't like I was asking for much; all I wanted was for her to put on a damn jacket. I could see everything in that tight little outfit she was wearing. Who even wore stuff like that? All the dancers I'd ever seen wore huge skirts that stuck out and weren't anywhere near as revealing as that. This woman made me want to punch a baby seal. What kind of women ignores a direct order from her fiancé? And now she was angry with me for no reason!

_Damnit!_

GHDM

I stormed down the stairs and out of the portrait hole as fast as my legs could take me, which was pretty fast. _Who does that?_ I seethed. I looked perfectly fine. It wasn't like my boobs were falling out like someone else _cough*Daphne*cough. _Who just orders other people around like that? What the hell? I am not some kid of slave that he can order around like that! I am my own person. _I am not speaking to this boy until he apologizes to me._

It was during this intense session of thought that I realized just how lost I was. I'd ended up in a long hallway that I'd never seen before, and it was empty. _Shit._

I turned around, hoping to find my way back to the portrait and start over. I had no such luck. Instead I ended up at a staircase that led me upwards. _This is the dungeon, so I should go up_ I thought, yeah right. I'd only succeeded in getting in another hallway that was just as empty as the last. _HELP ME!_ I thought to myself as I took a left turn.

I guess I should have been carful for what I had wished for because all of a sudden I ran headfirst into a red headed ball of energy.

_Damnit!_

GHDM

**OH NO! THEY'RE FIGHTING! And who could the redheaded ball of energy be? Send me a review with your thoughts on this chapter and I promise to put up the next one as soon as I can! LOTS OF LOVE XOXO**


	8. Chapter 8

"Watch where you're going!" She groaned while rubbing her head.

"I'm sorry!" I apologized "I'm lost and I just wasn't paying attention. It's been a rough morning."

She looked up at me then and a look of recognition passed over her features "Didn't you sing last night at the feast?"

"That was me." I replied. "Do you want some help?" I asked, referring to the books strewn across the hall way.

"That'd be great." She answered, "I'm Ginny, by the way, Ginny Weasley."

"It's nice to meet you." I smiled, handing her a few books to put into her bag. "I'm Gwendolyn Hasting, but you can call me Gwen everyone does."

"It's a pleasure. You were amazing last night, by the way." She smiled back, "I don't think I've ever seen Parkinson that jealous of anyone."

"Are you talking about my singing or something else?" I asked whilst laughing.

"Both." She teased.

"It was rather fun while it lasted I suppose." I laughed with her.

"While it lasted?" She asked.

"Later she…well it wasn't good." I told her.

"Don't let her get to you. She's just jealous because Malfoy won't marry her, or so I've heard." She consoled me.

"Thanks, I'll remember that next time." I smiled.

"So were you heading down to the great hall?" She asked me.

"I was until I got hopelessly lost." I groaned.

"Well then it's your lucky day!" She beamed "Because I was just heading that way myself, let's go."

"You just saved my life!" I laughed.

"Well then you owe me one." She smiled.

Our walk down the stairs was mostly a quiet one, the occasional comment from Ginny about how to remember where one was in the castle was the only interruption the whole time. She was quite pretty, I thought to myself, she had a carefree attitude about her and I was really starting to like the girl quite a bit.

"And here we are!" she said, pointing out the great hall as we walked down a final staircase and into the entrance.

"Thank you so much!" I flushed with embarrassment at having to be shown where I was meant to go.

"Would you like to eat with me and my friends today? I'm sure we wouldn't mind making a little room for one more, and I know everyone would want to meet you." Ginny offered with a gracious smile that had me wanting to accept in a heartbeat.

"I'd love to!" I beamed.

"Great!" She said. She beckoned me to follow her towards a rowdy table decked out in red and gold, a few of my singer friends waved or yelled greetings as we passed.

"Gwen!" My friend Alana shouted as I passed "great job last night!"

"Thanks!" I smiled back as I continued to follow Ginny to the center of the table where her friends were sitting.

"Good morning!" She smiled at them all as she sat down. "This is my friend Gwendolyn Hasting; I bumped into her in the hall and asked her to eat with us this morning."

"Please, call me Gwen." I blushed as I sat down to a chorus of hellos.

"This is Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, Neville Longbottom, and Harry Potter." She beamed while pointing out each of the aforementioned to me.

"It's a pleasure." Harry, I think, smiled at me.

"How do you like Hogwarts so far?" Hermione asked.

"It's great. The people here are just so hospitable." I replied sarcastically.

"What happened?" She asked again, sensing my anger.

"Let's just say men are idiots." I replied.

"I know what you mean." Hermione smiled, throwing a glance in the direction of Ginny's brother Ron who was stuffing his face with eggs. I giggled, as did Hermione, which caused the boy to look up at the pair of us.

"What?" He managed through a full mouth, only causing the two of us to laugh even more.

"How angry do you think Malfoy is right now on a scale of 1 to 10?" Ginny asked randomly causing the four of us to turn our attention to my fiancé who was currently sitting at his table glaring at his plate of eggs and clutching his fork so hard that I thought the thing would break.

"I'd say he's about a twenty five." Harry observed.

"He's just mad because I didn't put on a jacket when he told me to." I shrugged, grabbing an apple from a nearby bowl. "Is there any peanut butter?"

"It's not that, he hates Harry." Ginny said, passing me some peanut butter.

"What did you do?" I asked before taking a nutty bite of my apple.

"I don't think it's so much what I did. It's more like who I am." He clarified.

"He's just a butt face." I said, rolling my eyes and causing the small group around me to erupt into laughter.

"I can't remember the last time I heard someone being called a butt face!" Hermione laughed.

"I can, it was right before I got on the train my first year. Ginny called me a butt face for not letting her hide in my trunk!" Ron stated.

"Well you deserved it!" Ginny blushed, making us all laugh even more. Just then I felt a tap on my shoulder causing me to turn around to find my fiancé behind me.

"Hello Draco, have you met my friends?" I asked in a sickly sweet manor, just to piss him off.

"I have." He answered, his lips curling upward in distain, "I was just wondering if you would like to go for a walk with me before class."

"Does that walk include an apology?" I asked. "Then no." I said upon receiving no answer.

"Then at least spend your time in half decent company, Gwendolyn." He stated.

"Are you insulting my new friends, Draco?" I asked, it was more of a dare though.

"No, I was just telling you that these people are not a good bunch to hang around." He back tracked. "I would prefer it if you would come back to our table and sit with me."

"No." I said, turning my back on him only to have him grab my arm and turn me around.

"I forbid you to talk to these people, Gwendolyn." He commanded me ; the entire hall was silent by now.

"Get your hands off of her Malfoy." Harry warned.

"Don't talk to me like that Potter." Draco spat, giving me enough time to wretch my arm out of his grasp and turn to face him.

"Excuse me Draco Malfoy, but when I agreed to marry you I don't recall agreeing to submit to your every command. I will put a jacket on if I am cold, and I will spend my time with any sort of company I see fit." I seethed, "I will see you at lunch, and if I have received an apology by that time, then I MIGHT eat with you. One more thing; if you _ever_ touch me like that again our marriage will have no children because YOU will not be able to reproduce. Am I clear?" I asked. Upon his silence I continued. "Thank you Ginny for the lovely tour, it was nice to meet all of you." I smiled at them all, grabbed my apple, shouldered my bag, stood up from the table and made my way over to the door where I found Brian waiting for me.

"Shall we?" He asked tentatively while holding out an arm for me to take hold of.

"We shall." I smiled mockingly after taking his arm.

As we walked down the hallway towards our first classes I seethed in silence.

_How dare he!_

GHDM

I stood there looking like an idiot, in front of my worst enemy, while my fiancé stormed down the aisle and left with another bloke. _I look like a dumb ass_, I thought to myself.

"I'd just apologize; it's easier to just admit you're wrong instead of going through the pains of fighting. Women fight dirty, trust me." Potter offered.

"You know Potter, if I had wanted your advice I would've asked for it." I seethed, nearing my breaking point.

"I may have just met Gwen, but I think that if you ever lay a hand on her again I'll kick your arse from here to next Tuesday." He smiled angrily.

"Go to hell." I muttered before turning and stalking back to my table to grab my things and go to my first class, double potions

Gwendolyn had no right to be angry with me, I deserve to be the one who's angry _not_ her. She thinks that she can just walk around here dressed like a tramp? No fiancé of mine will walk around in public like a tramp. _I'll just write to my father about this_. Then I actually stopped in my tracks _Write to my father? How old am I? 6? _I can handle this myself.

_I am Draco Malfoy_, I thought to myself as I entered the potions classroom to find it half empty, _Early as usual._

"Mr. Malfoy, a word?" Professor Snape drawled from his spot at the front of the classroom.

"Certainly, sir." I replied before walking up to meet him at his desk.

"We'll talk in my office." My godfather said, leading the way up a small staircase and into his office.

"What is it?" I asked once the door was shut and the room silent.

"Your display this morning was less than amusing Draco." He began, "I know you teenagers are ruled by your hormones, but I will not have these fights become public anymore. Am I understood?"

"Yes sir." I said through clenched teeth.

"One more thing, Draco. I don't want you laying your hands on Gwendolyn ever again, unless it's with love and tenderness. The way you touched her just now was the way your father treats your mother, and I will not have you repeating his history with women." Severus said as a godfather rather than a teacher. "What was the fight about?"

"I asked her to put a jacket on this morning and she refused." I answered, wanting to leave the room as soon as possible.

"Did you _tell _her to put it on, or did you ask her?" He questioned again.

"I told her!" I sighed.

He shook his head in response and a smirk appeared on his face, "Never tell women like Gwendolyn Hasting to do anything."

"Do you know her well, then?" I asked skeptically.

"She studied with me over the summer two years ago. We became quite close, like best friends she will say," He replied coolly.

"Any advice?"I shrugged as I stood up to leave his office.

"Apologize now, that woman plays dirty and she never loses." He warned.

"Thanks." I smiled briefly before turning to duck out of the room.

"Oh, and Draco;" He called, "She loves flowers, daisies are her favorite if I recall correctly. It may seem like a cliché but groveling is the best way to gain forgiveness after what you've just done." He told me.

"I'll remember that." I stated before turning around and heading out into his classroom where I took my seat next to Blaise and Theo.

"What was that all about?" Blaise asked as soon as I sat down. "Gwen was pissed!"

"It's a long story, one I'd rather not get into right now." I sighed, rubbing my eyes in frustration before pulling out my book and placing it on the table.

"Parkinson was all excited because the two of you were fighting…I thought she might jump out of her seat." Theo added.

"Not helping Theo." Blaise reprimanded after I placed my head on the table and groaned in frustration.

"I have to apologize to her, soon." I mumbled to no one in particular.

"I suggest flowers." Blaise offered.

"Where am I supposed to get a flower on such short notice?" I asked Blaise.

"You could skip class and go to Hogsmeade!" Theo suggested.

"No way. McGonagall already hates me enough." I turned down.

"You could always pick flowers." A dreamy voice from behind us said.

"Why would I pick flowers, Lovegood?" I asked the girl sitting behind me.

"Well from what I heard this morning Gwendolyn is rather angry with you. I think that you'll need more that just flowers." She replied.

"What about everlasting flowers?" Theo interrupted with excitement. "Whenever my dad goes out with his mistress he gets them for my mum. She may hate him but she loves those things."

"As brilliant of an idea as that is I don't know how to get everlasting flowers, Nott. So your input has been, as always, useless." I said to the boy next to me.

"You can make them!" Blaise half shouted causing everyone in the room to look in our direction.

"And how do I do that?" I seethed

"It's just a simple spell."

"Then why don't you enlighten us, Lovegood?" I asked deciding to humor the girl.

"Well I would need a flower first Draco, everyone knows that." She said as if it were the most commonplace knowledge on this earth.

"Darn, no flowers." I sighed mockingly before turning around to watch Snape's dramatic entrance into the class room.

I zoned out most of the lesson, even though it was seventh year potions Snape had decided to do what he did every year: talk. So it left me enough time to think over the fight with Doll. I might have been wrong, but it was with good reason! She was the one walking around looking like a tramp. Okay, even I know that wasn't why she was dressed like that. Gwendolyn Hasting was not, and is not, a tramp. She was dressed for her dance class, and it was something that she was used to wearing at her school where she didn't have to worry about so many overly hormonal school boys. By the end of the lesson I'd decided to do something incredibly stupid, something that I would probably regret in the end, listen to Luna Lovegood.

"For homework, I would like a 12 inch parchment on my desk by our next class, on the properties of a unicorn hair when brewing Immortelle." Snape drawled as he dismissed his class.

"Wait, Lovegood!" I half shouted, as she was already halfway towards the door.

"Yes, Draco." She smiled dreamily.

"Show me how to make an everlasting flower." I stated, I almost sounded as if I were pleading _ugh._

"What's the magic word?" She asked, staring knowingly into my eyes.

"Please." I said reluctantly.

"Well actually its sclerisque, but a please is always nice in a situation such as this." She smiled. "Do you have a free period before lunch?"

"Yes."

"Meet me by the lake, we can pick flowers and I'll teach you the spell." She grinned before turning on her heal and walking dreamily out of the class room.

"I wish you luck mate, that one's a little off her rocker." Blaise said with a thump on my back.

"You're going to pick flowers with Luna Lovegood?" A shrill voice from behind me fumed.

Blaise, Theo, and I turned around to see Pansy Parkinson and Millicent Bullstrode standing behind us looking outraged. "Yes." Blaise smiled mockingly.

"He's, in a word, whipped." Theo added.

"I am _not_ whipped." I said in outrage.

"You are going back to that slut after what she's said to you?" Pansy screamed.

"She is not a slut and I would go back to her before I would ever go back to you." I replied quietly, hoping that our little group wouldn't call to much attention. My hope was in vain, because thanks to my screaming ex girlfriend everyone knew I was going to pick flowers with Luna Lovegood.

"You will come back to me Drakie. Whether it's before or after I've destroyed that little skank you're cheating with." She stated before rearing her hand back and smacking me on my cheek. "Let's go, Millie, before I do something I really regret."

"You okay?" Nott asked.

"I'm fine." I seethed feeling something warm trickle down my face.

"You're bleeding, mate." Blaise added.

"Let's go." I said, "I have transfiguration and then a date with Luna Lovegood."

As we walked down the hall together I wiped the blood off of my lip and thought about my crazy, deranged ex girlfriend. She needed to move on, or leave, or SOMETHING. SHE SMACKED ME! And she'd called my Doll a cheating slut!

_How dare she!_

GHDM

"FIVE, SIX, SEVEN, EIGHT!" Mr. Copper called out as the beat began to pulse through the room. Then fifteen dancers in the room began to start the dance we'd just spent the better part of two hours choreographing. Sweat was beading on my forehead and I could feel it gliding down my back.

"SAUNDERS!" Copper called out as we kept going "GIVE ME ENERGY!" Erin Saunders immediately complied giving Mr. Copper twice the amount of energy she had been giving beforehand. I think everyone picked up the energy after his call because as soon as I was lifted by my partner James I could feel the electricity in the touch. "POINT YOUR TOES!" He called out to everyone as the final eight counts were heard throughout the studio. "GREAT JOB DANCERS!" He yelled once the music stopped. "I WANT EVERYONE IN BALLET ATIRE TOMORROW! POINTE SHOES PLEASE!" He ordered. "DISMISSED! HASTING, A WORD?"

I gave a nod to Erin silently telling her to go on to lunch without me while I spoke to my dance teacher. "You wanted to see me Mr. Cooper." I said as I walked over to where he was standing by his magical stereo.

"Your performance in the Great hall last night was perfection, Gwendolyn." He praised, "However, your performance this morning was not as appreciated."

"I know, sir, and I'm sorry. But Draco just makes me so angry and-" I paused as he put up a hand to stop me before my tirade got even bigger.

"Men can be assholes, Gwen. I know, I am one." He cracked a smile. "You just have to find ways of maneuvering around them. Your mother wrote me about your situation and I think that it's a good thing we're here this year. I think that it would be best to forgive him for his actions and apologize for your outburst this morning. Now don't give me that face!" he held his hand up to stop my protests, "I know he laid a hand on you this morning and it wasn't right, but I think that he's getting even bigger hell from his professors than he needs from you."

"Yes, sir." I surrendered, hanging my head.

"On another note, I have decided the show for the juniors: Billy Elliot." He beamed,"And I would like to offer you the role of Mrs. Wilkinson."

"Really?" I asked, my excitement growing.

"Yes, really. Did you honestly think I would offer the role to anyone else?" He laughed at my excitement.

"You can't say that! You're not supposed to have favorites!" I scolded through my giggles.

"Bull shit!" He cursed, "Every director has favorites, and the difference is that mine are talented."

"Thank you sir." I blushed. "You won't regret your decision."

"You're welcome Gwen." He nodded towards the door signaling that I could leave "Oh and Gwendolyn?"

"Yes?" I replied turning around.

"Let him grovel a bit first, it always makes it more fun." He smirked making me laugh again.

"Will do sir!" I saluted like a military officer before rushing out into the hall way and ramming into Blaise Zambini.

"Whoa there!" He steadied me before I fell. "You need to watch where you're going Gwen."

"You need to find better places to stand Blaise!" I joked.

"I was looking for Brian, you don't happen to know where he is right now, do you?" He asked, his eyes lighting up when he said Brian's name.

"He's probably in the Great Hall for lunch." I answered.

"Perfect." Blaise smiled, holding out his arm for me to take, "Would the good lady like to accompany me on my journey to the Great Hall?"

'The lady would take no greater pleasure in such a thing." I assured him, taking his arm and following him to the hall.

"I love you theatre people." Blaise said. "It's like you get me." I laughed as we continued on our way to the hall.

_You have no idea._

GHDM

"I think this is enough." I said through clenched teeth as Luna put another Daisy onto the pile in my already full arms.

"Draco, I don't know your Doll to well but if you want her to forgive you I think you need just one more of these." She smiled, placing a tiger lily onto the pile. "All done."

"Thank god." I muttered as she pulled the large bundle out of my hands and began arranging them into a bouquet.

"Tell me about her." She sang dreamily, plucking various flowers out of the bundle.

"What?"

"Gwendolyn, your fiancé, what's she like?" She prompted.

"Oh," I said, taken aback. "Well she's beautiful and smart, and she can make me laugh, and she's really loyal and-." I stopped. "Why am I telling you this?"

"Because I'm helping you out and the least you could do is tell me about this girl." She answered, quite pleased with herself.

"LUNA!" a voice shouted, breaking us out of conversation to see a red haired whirl wind come racing down the hill towards us.

"Oh, it's Ginevra." Luna smiled.

"Luna, you'll never believe who just asked me out!" the girl squealed as she got close to us, she still hadn't noticed me.

"Well if I'll never guess, why don't you just tell me?" Luna replied.

"HARRY POTTER!" She squealed. I swore under my breath. "What the hell are you doing here Malfoy?"

"Oh, I was just helping out Draco. You see he and his fiancé got into a big fight this morning, maybe you heard, and I was just helping him out. She seemed rather angry and he thought that he should give her chocolates, and Theodore thought he should give her flowers, and I suggested that he give her-"

"Luna, that's not what I meant." Weaslette groaned.

"You know, Potter just lost me 10 galleons." I looked at the girl.

"What?" She asked in outrage.

"Blaise said that he would ask you out before September was up, I said that it would be around Christmas. He lost me ten galleons." I answered.

"You were betting on my relationship?" She asked again.

"Not on yours, we were just seeing how long it would take for Potter to grow a pair. I guess I should have a bit more faith in him." I shrugged, shooting Luna a smirk she didn't catch.

"Well, that's awful. No wonder Gwen's so mad at you." Weasley seethed.

"You know Gwendolyn?" I asked, forgetting all about the fact that I 'hated' her.

"I ran into her this morning. She was hopelessly lost because someone was being an arse. Don't you remember this morning Malfoy? I was sitting right next to her." The smallest Weasley seethed.

"I had something much more beautiful to look at." I replied smoothly and with a smirk plastered on my face.

"As much as I would love to listen to this little spat, I have things to be doing. So here are your flowers Draco. Tap them and say _Sclerisque,_ then they'll be chocolate like you wanted." Luna instructed. "Come along Ginny, you were telling me about Harry?"

"Fine. Bye Malfoy, it's been less than pleasure." Weasley said sarcastically as she turned to follow Luna back indoors.

"The feeling is mutual, Weasley." I replied. "Thanks Luna, I owe you one." I added as an afterthought.

"I'll remember that Draco. Good luck with your fiancé she seems lovely." The girl smiled dreamily before turning around and resuming her walk up the hill.

_Well here goes nothing,_ I thought to myself "_Sclerisque." _I tapped the flowers with my wand and the staid the exact same as they had before. _Did I just spend an afternoon with Luna Lovegood for nothing?_ I groaned internally. Surely she couldn't have given me the wrong spell. The flowers looked exactly the same as they had before, so, being ambitious, I took one of the sadder looking flowers and threw it onto the ground and stamped it with my shoe. As I lifted my foot up the flower looked exactly the same as it had before. _Good, it worked._

I made my way back up to the castle in search of my Doll, knowing that I had a lot of groveling to do. On my way into the castle I thought about what I would say. Should I ask for forgiveness first? Or give her the flowers first, or what? Maybe I should get her alone first. _No, Brian wouldn't let her be alone with me after this morning_. I could do it in front of everyone. _No, I'd never hear the end of it_. Maybe I could do it later. _No, I have to do it now._ Why was I so stupid? If I hadn't made that damned comment I wouldn't be in this position right now. _Damnit._

My walk towards the great hall was interrupted by a laugh, one I knew well. It was Gwen's laugh. It was accompanied by another, one I didn't know well but was familiar. One of her school mates maybe? But why would they be alone in a classroom with her. I panicked immediately, why Gwendolyn would be alone in a room with a boy. I put my ear to the dear, as any respectable person would have done but I was not prepared for what I heard.

"Do it! You said you wanted to show me something, now do it!" The male in the room laughed.

"You have to promise you won't laugh!" She giggled.

"I pinky swear." He joked.

"Here it goes" Then I heard silence and I grew nervous, just as my hand reached the door knob I heard a piano being played. She sang:

_Kiss today goodbye  
><em>_the sweetness and the sorrow.  
>Wish me luck, the same to you.<br>But I can't regret  
>what I did for love, what I did for love.<br>Look my eyes are dry.  
>The gift was ours to borrow.<br>It's as if we always knew,  
>and I won't forget what I did for love,<br>what I did for love.  
>Gone,<br>Love is never gone.  
>As we travel on,<br>Love's what we'll remember.  
>Kiss today goodbye,<br>and point me toward tomorrow.  
>We did what we had to do.<br>Won't forget, can't regret  
>what I did for<br>Love  
>What I did for<br>Love  
>What I did for...<br>Love  
>Love is never gone<br>as we travel on  
>Love's what-<em>

Just as she sang those words the door I was leaning against fell open with a bang and she stopped. "What are you doing here?" the boy asked me. I looked up from the floor to find Brian standing over me with a glare fixed on his face.

"I need to talk to Doll." I answered, feeling ashamed to have eavesdropped.

"No, you need to get the hell out." He seethed over me.

"Brian, it's fine." Gwendolyn interrupted. "Let him talk."

"Fine, what do you want to say?" Brian asked, dared was a better word.

"In private." My fiancé interrupted, fixing Brian with a look.

"Fine, I'll be outside the door. If I hear anything I don't like coming from this room I will open the door and hex your head off, am I clear?" He warned.

"Crystal." I replied, feeling more than a little intimidated. Brian nodded then stormed out of the room slamming the door behind him. The loud slam of the door was still echoing in our silence moments later. I didn't know what to say. "I liked your song." I started, and immediately regretted it _I like your song? That's the best I could come up with? Come on Malfoy, get it together._

"Thanks." She said icily, obviously not amused at my obvious eavesdropping.

"Look about this morning-" I began, only to be cut off in the process.

"I don't want to talk to you right now Draco Malfoy. A little spat over a jacket should not have escalated like it did. Do you know that there's a bruise where you grabbed me this morning?" She asked, her voice wavering.

"I did what?" I whispered, appalled with my actions.

"You left a bruise." She answered. "I don't think I've ever been as angry with another person as I am right now. I trusted you not to hurt me. You broke my trust."

"Let me make it up to you." I pleaded.

"Why should I do that?" She asked again, making me feel like a child talking to their mum.

"Because, Doll," she flinched at her nickname, "it was a mistake. I never meant to hurt you like that."

"Verses hurting me in other ways?" She questioned.

"That's not what I meant. I meant that I never meant to hurt you at all. It was just getting good with us. Please give me another chance." I pleaded, I was on my knees in front of her. She sat on the piano bench with tears in her eyes.

"I don't know if I can." She whispered.

"Damnit, Gwendolyn!" I shouted, making her coil back onto the piano bench. " Just listen to me, I'm sorry. I never meant to hurt you. Please forgive me and I'll do whatever you ask of me. I'll walk you to class, carry your books, let you do whatever you want, just please, please forgive me." By now I had my arms around her and my head buried in her hair as she silently cried into my shoulder.

"I forgive you." She whispered, pulling her head away from me and grabbing my head between both of her hands. Now we were looking into each other's eyes. "But I am going to make one thing very clear Draco Malfoy. If you ever lay your hands on me again, I will unleash the wrath of Brian on you, and trust me you don't want that." She warned. As an answer I brought my lips to hers in a kiss that was equal parts sweet and thankful.

"You won't regret this." I smiled, taking her hand and pulling her up off of the bench. "I picked you these." I said, finally remembering the flowers I had gone through so much trouble to get her.

"You picked me flowers?" She asked with a smile on her face.

"Yes." I nodded, looking away so she wouldn't see my embarrassment.

"You must have gone through a lot of trouble to get these." She giggled, leaning up to place a kiss on my cheek.

_You have no idea!_

GHDM

**HOLY CRAP! That one took a while, I'm sorry. I've recently gotten a concussion and it makes computer use difficult so I haven't been able to write for a while. But I do hope you like it. I just had to get them to make up, I couldn't go to bed with them fighting (tehe). Let me know what you thought of the chapter. OH! And the song Gwen sings some of is called **_**What I did for Love**_** from **_**a Chorus Line **_**. Leave me a review, the ones from last chapter made me smile so very much! LOVE YOU ALL! Have a great week! **


	9. Chapter 9

Brown Curls. The most beautiful thing on this planet: brown curls. They weren't quite brown though, they were chocolate. It's the dark kind that melts in your mouth and warms you from head to toe. When I looked at those chocolate brown curls I saw the sweets my mother once gave me when I behaved at father's dinner parties. They're look was deceiving though. Although they looked like chocolate, they smelled like vanilla. Even when she complained about how sweaty and disgusting she was, she still smelled like vanilla. Those beautiful chocolate curls were currently in my face, and they were driving my nose wild.

"Bless you." She laughed as she moved her head so that she could look at my face. "You're not getting sick, are you?"

"No." I teased her. "I think someone needs to find a better place to put her head."

"I don't think so, I'm comfy." She smiled and lay back against my chest and started writing in her notebook again.

"What are you writing?" I asked.

"None of your business." She replied defensively, hiding the notebook from my view.

"So you won't tell me?" I pouted.

"Nope." She smiled toothily up at me.

"That hurts, you know?"

"I think you'll be okay." She turned back to her notebook again and wrote once more, leaving me to my thoughts.

The breeze from the window blew her hair into her face, and I unconsciously reached over to push it back behind her ear making her blush. That blush. When her pale cheeks were graced with that blush it made me smile to myself, and I don't smile. It felt like I constantly made her do it, and it may be a power that I abused from time to time. She was more beautiful than ever when she blushed, even if she hated it.

"You two are disgusting." Brian scoffed from beside us.

"Look who's talking." She shot back coolly as she hid her face behind her book so that no one could see her blush.

Gwendolyn Hasting was one of the only people in this world who I could laugh with, which I did just then. I felt like the fight earlier in the week hadn't happened; the only reminder was the bruise on her wrist that stared back at me every day as a reminder. She'd said that it wasn't a big deal, but I could see her rubbing it when she thought I wasn't looking. There was not a word to describe how sorry I was.

"So what time is this party tonight?" Brian asked.

"It starts at eight, but no one great shows up before ten." Blaise answered with a smirk.

"So you'll be there at seven thirty?" Brian asked.

"Smart ass." Blaise mumbled, causing Brian to laugh and lean up to kiss my best friend.

"Get a room!" I groaned, shielding my eyes.

"Drake, I hate to point this out, but this _is _Blaise's room." Doll stated slowly.

"Are you taking his side?" I asked, appalled.

"Of course not!" She teased. "I was just merely pointing out that if anyone should be getting a room, it's us."

"Well, it looks like the two of us have a room to be getting to." I jumped up grabbing Dolls hand and pulling her to the door.

"You're so ruled by your hormones, Draco." Doll berated me as she laughed.

"Malfoy, if she isn't back in the dorm room by 6 I'll shoot you." Brian threatened me.

"What's at six?" I asked.

"We must get ready!" Brian answered as if I were stupid.

"Getting ready takes four hours?" Blaise questioned.

"We'll be lucky if that's _enough_ time." Brian replied with a sigh.

"I'll be in the room by seven Brian." Doll bargained.

"Make it six thirty." Brian yelled as I pulled Gwendolyn out the door of the head boy's room, and towards the portrait leading to the seventh floor hallway.

She laughed as I picked up the pace, nearly running by now, towards my favorite place in the entire castle. "Where are we going?" Doll asked through her laughter as I pulled her along beside me.

"It's a surprise!" I answered cryptically. She laughed even more, causing me to join in when I looked back to see her pink tinged cheeks that had tears rolling down them.

"Can't you slow down?" She begged, attempting to wipe her eyes but only laughing harder when I ran even faster. "I may be fast, Malfoy, but you have those twenty foot long legs on your side!"

"You complain too much, Hasting." I drawled, but slowed just a bit to please her. "Besides, we're nearly there."

"Good." She gasped, as I slowed down to a stop right in front of a portrait with a bowl of fruit on it. She stared at me for a moment while I smirked down at her. "Where are we Draco Malfoy?"

"Wouldn't you like to know Gwendolyn Hasting." I drawled, leaning down to capture her soft pink lips in a light kiss. She was taken aback at first, but soon returned it with a little added fervor. I leant my head down further and opened my mouth up just enough to run my tongue along the entrance to hers. She responded to my silent question by opening her mouth just enough to let me inside. I explored her mouth with my tongue, for what felt like hours. Her hands wove upward towards my neck where she began to tug lightly at the hairs situated back there, causing me to groan just a bit. She smiled at that, and continued to play with them. Shivers ran down my spine at the touch of her cool fingers against my warm skin. My hands wrapped around her waist, pulling her even closer to me. All too soon Doll was pulling her mouth away from mine.

"Now where on earth did you learn to kiss like that Draco Malfoy?" She gasped for breath, while leaning her forehead against my chin.

"I can't give out all of secrets." I smirked before leaning down to press a light kiss on her forehead. "Now, how about that surprise?"

"I'd forgotten all about it." She smiled up at me, causing me to take my hand from her waist and reach up to wipe the tears of laughter that were still damp on her face. She blushed.

"Just tickle the pear." I ordered her cryptically.

"What?" She asked, looking at me as if my statement had had some sort of double meaning,_ you can tickle my pear anytime, Doll_ I thought to myself. Then I gave myself a mental slap. _That was weird, even for you Malfoy. _

"Tickle the pear." I prompted again, this time cocking my head in the direction of the fruit bowl portrait. She looked at me skeptically before rolling her eyes and tickling the pear in the fruit bowl.

"Holy shit!" She whispered under her breath after jumping backwards when the portrait swung open.

"Welcome to the kitchens, luv." I smirked at her as she glared daggers at me.

"That wasn't funny Draco Malfoy!" She seethed.

"Yes it was." I took her hand and led her through the portrait hole and into the Hogwarts kitchens. She continued glaring at me as I pulled her forward.

"You did that just to scare me didn't you?" She asked skeptically.

"Of course not." I answered with a smile.

"You're a cheeky little bastard!"

_Oh, how right you are._

GHDM

"You're pulling my hair!" I groaned, as Brian continued his assault on the mass of curls that is my hair.

"Well, if you would condition regularly, then we wouldn't be having this problem, now would we Gwendolyn?" He berated me. "Don't move I've almost got it perfect."

"I should've just stayed with Drake." I groaned, but followed Brian's instructions none the less. By now I had learned that it was easier to sit still in these situations, rather than get up and leave. Third year I nearly went bald when I tried to go to the bathroom.

"If you had stayed with Draco you would be pigging out in that kitchen, and ruining my vision for tonight." He replied through the bobby pins currently in his teeth.

"Hey, pigging out isn't the only thing we did." I said, though my tone was laced with double meaning.

"You little slut!" Brian sang. "Tell me, is he a good kisser? Because in my head, he's a good kisser."

"You're disgusting! Besides, you know I never kiss and tell." I winked up at him.

"Just tell me one thing, is he a serious or teasing kind of kisser?" He asked again.

"Do you have a crush on my fiancé?" I laughed.

"So what if I do?"

"You have Blaise!" I protested.

"I don't 'have Blaise'" He replied, lifting his hands up from my head for just a second to make air quotes, "We are individuals who do not own the other. Our relationship has no definition."

"You've got him whipped haven't you?" I smirked conspiratorially.

"With a chain!" He laughed. I joined in as he put the finishing touches on my hair. The look he'd been going for was called (and I quote) 'sex hair'. From what I had seen in the mirror I just looked like a hot mess in my opinion. My makeup hadn't been done yet, and I was only wearing a bra and some short shorts as we sat in the bathroom of our dormitory with the door locked. Everyone had already showered and was just 'chilling' as Nott had so eloquently put it when we'd asked. "Hair spray." Brian ordered. I handed the metal bottle up to him, trusting him whole heartedly.

"I better not look like I tried too hard, Brian!" I warned.

"You won't, the idea is that you didn't try at all." He winked at me in the mirror. "Now turn around and face me."

"Make up time!" I laughed as he picked up my foundation powder and began to brush it on my skin.

"Darling," He groaned mockingly, "When was the last time you plucked?"

"About a month ago." I grinned sheepishly.

"Well, I'll just have to do that too." He smiled to himself, and then grabbed the tweezers from my makeup case.

"So how was your afternoon with Blaise?" I teased.

"It was fine." He replied stiffly.

"Oh come on, Bri! I want the juicy details, is the ladies room gossip true?" I asked, and then I began to sing a line from _In the Heights_ "they say he's got quite a big taxi!"

"We're talking a stretch limousine!" He sang back, we both fell into a fit of laughter.

"Really though?"

"No! I mean, I don't know! We just talked and hung out!" He groaned, pulling his hand away from my face to get more eye shadow on the brush.

"Does 'talking' mean snogging?" I asked with a wink.

"All this British slang is so confusing, Lyn. That's kissing right?" He ranted.

"Yes."

"Then yes." We both laughed at that one.

"So are you two a couple?" I asked again.

"If you mean that we're 'boyfriends', then I don't know." He answered using finger quotes.

"So the two of you spend all of your free time together, you flirt constantly, he holds your hand in the hallways, and he walks you to and from all of your classes; but he _hasn't asked you to be his boyfriend?" _By the end of my list I was nearly screaming. "What a prick."

"He's not a prick, he's a great guy!" Brian defended as he swiped mascara over my already long lashes.

"Why haven't you asked then?" I continued.

"I just haven't!" He shrugged, "I kind of want him to do it."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah," He grinned sheepishly "I just" he sighed deeply, "I just have this dorky school boy fantasy of him walking up to me and, I don't know, awkwardly shuffling from side to side. Then he takes my hand and looks everywhere but my eyes and nervously asks me to be his boyfriend." He finished in a rush.

"That's adorable." I said seriously.

"You're laughing." He accused.

"I am not!" I smiled, "I'm merely smiling at the amount of adorable that you are."

"Kiss my ass."

"Maybe later." I replied with a wink.

"Be careful, I think Draco may have some competition."

"Alas, it's true! I, Gwendolyn Cecily Hasting, am completely in love with you Brian!" I half shouted dramatically.

"I'm so sorry, babe but it would never work between the two of us." Brian laughed.

"And why is that my love?" I begged, causing him to laugh even more.

"I'm Gayer than the fourth of July." He stated matter of factly.

We both dissolved into fits of laughter. It was the type of laughter that made our stomachs hurt, and every time one of us looked the other in the eye the giggles started all over again. Brian, red in the face, stood up after a good ten minutes and looked at his red face in the mirror.

"Lyn, I don't know what I would do without you." He smiled, rubbing his face in hopes of calming the redness. I got up from my spot on the floor and stood to give him a hug from behind, but I paused as soon as I saw my face in the mirror. My usually tangled and messy curls were now even bigger and curlier, being pulled to one side and fashioned with a pin; they framed one side of my face leaving my pale neck exposed to the cool air. The contrast of my dark brown hair to my pail alabaster skin was perfect and, in my mind, an amazing trick of the light. The only obvious trace of makeup was on my eyes. My usually dark, almost navy, blue eyes were now a bright electric turquoise framed by long dark lashes; my lids were smoky and alluring. To balance it, he'd kept everything very simple: Pale pink blush, and on my lips, a light shimmering gloss.

"No, Bri, I don't know what I would do without you." I stated in awe. "I look amazing."

"You really like it?" He asked.

"I love it." I smiled, causing him to squeal and do a, very feminine, victory dance.

"Good because I have the most perfect outfit picked out. It's on your bed, but you have to wait for me to get Draco out of the room. I want to surprise him."

"Okay." I laughed, shaking my head at his antics. "You know he's probably standing right outside that door, just dying to know what we're doing in here."

"I AM NOT!" We heard a male voice shout from outside the door.

"GO AWAY MALFOY!" I shouted back with a giggle in my voice. "I'LL MEET YOU DOWNSTAIRS!"

"IT'S NEARLY TEN!" He shouted

"WE KNOW!" Brian yelled through the door, "THEY DO TEACH US HOW TO TELL TIME AT PASOM!"

"I'LL BE DOWNSTAIRS DOLL, BUT IF YOU'RE NOT DOWN IN FIFTEEN MINUTES I'M COMING IN AND CARRYING YOU DOWN THERE!" Draco decided with a groan.

"YES MUM!" I shouted back sarcastically.

"They also teach us how to kick little boy's asses at PASOM!" Brian muttered under him breath.

_Oh, how right you are._

GHDM

It had been fifteen minutes, and still no Doll. Even though I had only been joking about barging in on the two of them, I had half a mind to do it. They'd been in that bathroom for three and a half hours, granted that the first two had been spent showering, but I was still desperate to find out what Brian had done with my Doll. That was how I had begun to think of her now, my Doll. Even though it had only been two weeks, she was mine. Other women had lost their appeal, and the idea of being with anyone else was just out of the question for me. She was mine, and I was hers. That is the way I like it.

The party was in full swing all around me. Everyone was dancing to the music that was currently blasting throughout the common room, their sweaty bodies grinding on one another. Our usually dark and dismal common room had been transformed into what one would assume to be a classy muggle nightclub. I held a firewhiskey in each hand.

"Oh, Drakie, how did you know I wanted one?" I voice cooed in my ear, forcing me to clench my jaw in irritation.

"It's not for you, Parkinson." I replied through clenched teeth as I pulled the glass away from her.

"You know, Draco, I've been very lenient with you this past week, but I have just about had it with you." She yelled at me. "I have half a mind to just stop talking to you altogether."

"Please do!" I shouted back in exasperation, the people around us had stopped their dancing by now to watch our little fight.

"Sometimes I think you don't love me anymore, Drakie." Pansy cried.

"Now, what on earth would make you think that?" I asked sarcastically. She looked at me with wild eyes for a moment before smiling just a little bit and then sauntering towards me in, what I could only assume, was supposed to be an alluring walk.

"You're going to want me, Drakie, and when you do I'll be waiting for you right here. Just let me know when that little tramp gets to be too much for you." She cooed. Then just as she turned to walk away a drink was thrown in her direction.

"Back off, bitch! He's mine." The thrower shouted. Pansy screamed, for she was covered in pumpkin juice.

"YOU!" she shouted, pointing towards the other end of the group that had formed around us.

"Yes me, Parkinson. You really can be quite daft sometimes." Gwendolyn Hasting stated calmly.

"First you've stolen my man, and now you've embarrassed me in front of my school." Pansy accused, "You're going to pay for this, and it will be big." She finished with a sharp turn in the direction of the stairs.

"PARKINSON!" Doll shouted, catching the girl in questions attention, "Two things. One, if he'd been you're 'man' to begin with, wouldn't you be wearing this ring, and not me?" She asked, holding up her left hand to show off the diamond she wore there. "And two," she said, stepping closer to Pansy so they were face to face, "If you so much as touch Draco again, it will be much worse than pumpkin juice on your slutty little outfit. I promise you that much."

"Why you little-"Pansy started, only to be cut off quickly.

"Pansy," Gwendolyn called mockingly, "I can see your panties."

"AHH!" Pansy screamed in anger and embarrassment before sprinting upstairs to change.

The crowd resumed their previous positions, some dancing, others drinking, as I slowly walked up to my fiancé and planted a firm kiss on her lips. "Thank you." I said, causing her to smile.

"I can't stand her." She replied. "Is that drink for me?"

"Indeed it is. I hope you like firewhiskey." I answered with a smirk.

"Who doesn't love firewhiskey?" She joked before drinking the whole glass like a shot and grabbing my hand, "Let's dance."

She pulled me out to the center of the floor, where I saw Brian and Blaise dancing together, and started to dance with me as innocently as one could in such close quarters. That was when I finally got a good look at her, with my hands on her hips and hers on my neck. She was wearing a short dress that came up to her mid thigh; it was blood red and paired with a black belt that was looped around her waist. The only trace of makeup on her face was the eyes, which looked dark and smoky. She wasn't wearing heals, unlike almost every other girl here, which I liked. It made her special. It made her my doll.

Throughout the whole night there was one part of my body touching hers, whether it was an arm, a hand, or a shoulder, we never parted the whole evening. Getting a drink was done together, and we danced with no one else. To my surprise, Gwendolyn Hasting was not as innocent as I had thought her to be. She and Brian had some sort of grinding dance they did together that, although funny to them, was much sexier than I could have anticipated.

By the end of the evening we were trashed, Doll and I. People were slowly trickling to bed, while we sat on a couch laughing about nothing in particular. The clock tolled 4 o'clock, signaling that it was much later than we had thought.

"I guess that means bed time, huh?" She giggled.

"It does." I sighed, not wanting to get up.

"Well come on then!" She jumped up only to fall back down into my lap.

"Why don't we just stay here?" I asked placing light kisses on her neck and collar bone.

"Because this isn't a bed silly." She laughed.

"So you want to go to bed?" I asked once more, my slurring words laced with double meaning.

"Yes."

"All you had to do was ask." I murmured.

I picked her up bridal style, despite my drunken stupor I didn't stumble once, and carried her to the stairs. "Put me down!" She protested with a laugh, meaning she didn't really want to be put down at all.

"I am just doing my duty as a gentleman to carry such a lovely lady, such as yourself, to her bed, which she so eloquently asked to be put into." I slurred in my defense.

"Well if this kind gentleman would just put me down-" She started.

"I don't think he will love. You see, he likes to be considered a knight." I confessed dramatically.

"Well then, Sir," She laughed drunkenly, putting an emphasis on the word _sir_, "Would you be so kind as to carry me up to my room?"

"I would be delighted." I smiled slightly as I started up the staircase that seemed much easier to climb when I wasn't intoxicated.

_Damn._

**GHDM**

"CAREFUL!" I slurred as Draco just nearly missed another step for the fifth time. "Maybe I should walk the rest of the way."

"NO!" He cried, straightening himself up immediately and climbing thee steps once more, "I made a promise to a beautiful lady that I would carry her upstairs and I will!"

I rolled my eyes, but let him continue anyhow. I wasn't that drunk really. For a girl, I could hold liquor rather well. When parties rolled around I was always the designated conscience, as Brian had dubbed me. I had been given the roll of making sure no one did anything ridiculously stupid, which I sometimes failed at.

It was kind of adorable to see Draco when he was drunk, he smiled a lot more and let his guard down around everyone. He'd even loosened up on the dance floor and surprised me with his dance moves all night long. "I believe this is your stop my lady," Draco smiled as he set me on my feet in front of our door.

"Thank you, kind sir." I giggled as I tripped slightly and fell into his arms. There was a pause as we looked at each other in the darkness. His usually styled hair was messy and uncombed while his guarded eyes were open to the world. A lock of my hair fell into my eyes and he gently brushed it back with his fingers. They never left my face.

"You look beautiful tonight." He murmured as he traced his fingers over my jaw. "Did I tell you that?"

"No," I answered, focusing more on his fingers than his words.

"Well, I did now." He whispered, leaning in to close the gap between our lips in a light drunken kiss. "I think I love you Gwendolyn Hasting."

I was shocked, never had I expected to her those words coming out of my fiancé's mouth. They couldn't have been the truth, he was drunk. It was a fact that drunk people did and said things they didn't mean. He was just drunk, he wouldn't remember it in the morning, and it meant nothing. But why did it make my stomach flutter as if a caterpillar had just burst from its cocoon? Why did Draco Malfoy make me feel this way?

"Draco, you're drunk." I stammered.

"So are you," He slurred.

"We should get you to bed." I grabbed his hand and pulled him into our dorm room to find everyone asleep with the lights out. I stumbled towards his bed, pulling him along with me, succeeding in tripping over almost everything in the room. "I think this is your stop." I joked when we had reached his bed.

"It is." He breathed. He rummaged in his trunk for pajama bottoms as he threw his shirt onto the floor for the elves to come clean in the morning.

"Geeze, warn a girl next time." I blushed at his naked chest.

"Don't act like you don't like it." He smirked as he pulled on a pair of his silky bottoms, keeping his chest bare just to embarrass me.

"I'm going to attempt to find my trunk, good night." I smiled at him, reaching up on my tip toes to place a light kiss on his cheek. He turned his head suddenly and captured my lips in what could only be considered a very passionate, albeit clumsy, kiss.

"Stay with me." He whispered with his forehead leaning against mine after we had pulled apart.

"Drake, I have to go to my bed." I laughed nervously.

"My bed is comfier." He stated as his arms wound around my waist and pulled me closer towards the warmth of his body.

"What will everyone think in the morning?" I questioned with a blush on my face.

"You're cute when you blush." He whispered, placing a kiss on my lips and causing me to blush even redder.

"Draco, I can't go to sleep in this." I tried pointing down at my short flowing red dress.

"Here" He smirked, tossing me his quidditch jersey to put on.

"I'm not going to win this one am I?" I asked.

"Nope." He grinned toothily.

"Close your eyes." I ordered him as I turned around to take off my dress. I unzipped the zipper and quickly pulled the t shirt over my head before he could see anything.

"It fits," He smiled, referring to the jersey that nearly went to my knees and covered me completely. Grabbing my hand, he pulled me down onto his bed where he wrapped his arms around my waist protectively and nuzzled his head in my hair. "Good night, beautiful." He murmured drowsily.

"Good night, Draco." I smiled slightly as I curled up against him to fall asleep.

My eyes fluttered shut as I listened to the soothing drumming of Draco's heartbeat. Just as I was about to succumb to the drowsiness that was overwhelming me, the door opened wide to reveal my best friend in a compromising position with Blaise Zambini.

_Damn._

**GHDM**

Whoa! I'm alive! I hope you like this chapter; it only took me forever to write. There aren't any good excuses for my absence except stress and school. Leave me a review to tell me what you think, it would honestly make my day, and get me to update much faster. Hugs and butterfly kisses!


	10. Chapter 10

_Run. Run harder. Run faster. Just run. _The thoughts came at me as if they were an attack. _Don't stop. No matter what. _The car sped forward as I turned onto the bridge. _Keep going, don't stop for anything. _Suddenly I couldn't get through the traffic; there were too many cars and not enough time, _the water. _I jerked the wheel quickly turning toward the edge of the bridge. _They'll never find me here._ I thought a silent prayer to whatever kind of God was up there. There wasn't much time, in my cup holder sat a wand, so saying a silent incantation I sent message to my only friend left in this world and then floored it. As the car went airborne there was only one thought in my mind, one thing I left unsaid, one thing that I knew would have killed me eventually. _I love you Gwen. _

"NOO!" I jerked awake suddenly. There was sweat all over my pillow and tears were streaming down my cheeks. My breath came in short gasps and suddenly those gasps turned to overwhelming sobs that had me shaking in fear. There was one thought in my head as I relived the memory my brother had left me with that night, _I love you too Arthur. _

"Gwendolyn?" A voice whispered next to me, "Doll? Are you okay? Gwen?" Arms wrapped around me hoping to stop the shaking but nothing changed I couldn't even look over at the boy next to me. "Can you hear me? DOLL!" he shouted, "SAY SOMETHING?" I only sobbed louder in response causing the shaking to increase and more cold chills to cover my arms. "Brian? Nick? Jenner? SOMEONE!" He shouted louder letting me go for just a moment to open the curtains around us.

"What?" An angry voice across the room shouted.

"Something's wrong." The boy next to me replied.

"Shit." Another voice said.

"What do we do?" a third voice added.

"Severus. Take her to Severus." A familiar voice concluded. "He helped her with this last summer. Take her to Severus."

Suddenly the same arms that first held me were wrapped around my body again and this time he lifted upward to carry me out the door. "Brian, come with us." My carrier shouted. Another boy followed as he raced down the steps.

I could not see through the tears that overwhelmed me. All I could see was the water coming closer and closer through the windshield. All I could hear were the screams of my pursuers as they chased me down and the shouts of pedestrians as they watched me plummet to my death. All I could taste was the blood in my mouth from a bitten tongue. All I could feel was the seat belt digging into my chest and fear, pure unadulterated fear.

"SEVERUS!" The boy carrying me shouted as he burst through a door. "HELP! SEVERUS!"

"What the hell is going- oh my god." A man exclaimed. "Put her on the table."

The boy carrying me laid me down on a hard wood surface and my shivers got even more violent. My tears got heavier and suddenly I wasn't breathing. For a moment I was light headed and dizzy, but then a great pain grew in my chest forcing me to take in a sudden breath which hurt more than the pain I was already in.

"GWENDOLYN, I need you to hear my voice." I shivered even more nearly falling off the table. "Look at me, Gwendolyn." I couldn't open my eyes without seeing the water, without seeing my inevitable death, so they stayed shut "Gwendolyn feel my hand." All I could feel was the seat belt, it was sure to leave mark red and angry, "I need you to breathe." But I could not breathe.

I could not breathe.

I was falling asleep, without breath.

I was falling through space, a space which seemed never ending. Its vast distance was unfathomable.

I was falling through the dark, pitch black surrounded me, but up ahead there was a light.

I was walking toward that light, and it beckoned me forward with its beauty and perfection.

Suddenly the light disappeared and I was no longer walking but falling once more. I was falling through the space. I was falling asleep. I was falling but this time with breath.

_What's happening to me? _

**GHDM**

"Mr. Malfoy I will only ask you to leave once more, and then I will throw you out myself. If Ms. Hasting's health makes any kind of turn I will let you know. Now, please go outside and get some fresh air, or go to the library, or maybe go eat something, but whatever you do it _will not be here."_ Madame Pomfrey seethed as she grabbed me by the arm and all but forced me out of the hospital wing.

"But Madame-"I protested

"OUT!" She shouted before slamming the door right behind me, leaving me alone in the mid morning light. My eye lids were heavy, but there was no way I could sleep after the night I'd just had. My stomach grumbled, but there was no way I could keep food down after what I'd just seen. I was in desperate need of a shower, but I feared I would turn into the sobbing girl I'd held last night. I did the only thing that would keep me sane.

Breaking into the broom storage was not exactly the hardest thing to do in the world. It took a simple charm that each of the prefects and quidditch captains knew by heart, the only problem was I had no wand. I resorted to kicking the door in, which worked until I realized that the shed had been left open by some careless authority figure. I grabbed the first broom in sight and ran.

I ran out onto the quidditch pitch with a broom in my hand only to find that it had already been claimed by the Gryffindor quidditch team. I swore under my breath and almost turned away when I realized that I truly didn't care. Ignoring the scene before me I mounted my broom any way and kicked off into the sky. I shot forward like a bolt of lightning and began to circle the outside of the pitch, which seemed like fair game to me, but apparently not to the Gryffindor captain.

"Oy! Malfoy!" Scar head shouted "This is a private tryout." He mounted his broom and flew straight in front of me, blocking my path. "Get out. I don't want you spying on our new team."

"Trust me potter if I were spying you'd have no idea." I grumbled as I attempted to fly around him again only to have him stop me once more. "God Damnit Potter! Let me pass." I exploded.

"What's wrong with you Malfoy? No witty come back?" The Gryffindor asked in genuine confusion, I was not in the mood for our usual battle of wits.

"No. Not today Potter." I seethed.

"I want you off this pitch."

"Make me." I dared him. That's when he must have seen it. My almost desperate need for some type of feeling be it the wind in my hair or a punch in the face, anything other than the numbness that was starting to consume me.

"Did something happen to Gwen?" He asked with real concern, the unbiased concern of a friend who just wanted to help.

"yes." I whispered.

"Is she okay?" He prompted me.

"I wish I knew." My voice cracked on the last word.

"Where is she?"

"She's in the hospital wing, but Pomfrey isn't allowing guests. I just needed to think, I needed to just breathe for a minute…or two." I sighed, gripping my broom with one hand and wiping my face with the other.

"I know what you mean, mate." The boy sighed, looking over his shoulder he added, "You can have the pitch. I already know who I want on the team.

"Not Beardsley I hope. He looks as if he's falling off his broom." I attempted to joke with him halfheartedly.

He turned to regard the third year in question. "He's a nice kid but I think if he tried to catch a quaffle he'd fall off his broom." We both laughed halfheartedly.

"Why are you being nice to me Potter?" I asked as he turned to fly away.

"Because sometimes we need to talk, and sometimes we need to think, but at a time like this, when the girl you love is in danger, it's sometimes better not to think at all." He shrugged and turned away, but not before I said one more thing.

"I'm not in love with her." I refuted.

"Could've fooled me," With that he flew off and called his new members to the ground.

My mind was at a complete stand still, I'd just had a completely civil conversation with the person I hated most in this world. There were no insults spat, no spells were shouted, no punches thrown, and worst of all he'd assumed that I loved Gwendolyn Hasting. That was impossible no pureblood marriage ended in love. Even my parents had their relations on the side of their marriage, so there was no way in hell that I loved Gwendolyn Hasting, right?

_What the hell is happening to me? _

**GHDM**

"Gwen?" He called, "Can you hear me?" I nodded slowly opening my eyes as I did, "Don't sit up yet, you'll get dizzy."

"What happened?" I asked.

"You had some kind of dream ad it set you off again." He answered.

"No, no those stopped. Severus told me they would stop." I cried.

"And they did." He nodded.

"So why are they back, what in the world could bring them back?"

"Draco Malfoy." He answered honestly.

"You think that Draco Malfoy is bringing back my nightmares about that night?"

"I know he is." The boy nodded. "Severus just gave you time to heal, time to breathe. Draco is meant to help you move on, he'll help you forget."

"But I don't want to forget. I don't want to be all alone again." I protested.

"With Draco you won't be alone, you'll be with him. He's meant to be with you for your whole life."

"What are you talking about?" I cried.

"He is the one who will make your nightmares disappear and your dreams come alive."

"How?"

"I can't give away all my secrets now can I?" He smirked the always familiar smirk that made me smile.

"Not even for me?" I batted my eyelashes.

"Not even for you." He gave me a look of utter longing and love, "I approve you know, of you and him. Even though he's a git, I approve."

"I wish you could meet him." I sighed.

"I do too, babe, I do too." He sighed back.

"Can I stay here?" I asked, "With you?"

"No, this place isn't much of a place." He smiled.

"We could make it a place, like we used to."

"It's best not to live in the past babe."

"Not even for a moment?" I asked, I pleaded. My eyes begged for him to let me stay to let me remember this last moment forever.

"Not even for a moment, Gwendolyn." He pulled me close and placed a kiss on my forehead. I grew warm where he touched me and suddenly I could no longer touch him. "I love you, Gwen."

I sat up as if someone had shocked me with a wire everything was breathtakingly clear and I could finally see what was in front of me again. Beside me sat a sleeping Draco, whose hand sat next to mine as if he'd been holding it when he'd fallen asleep. I lightly brushed the un gelled hair on his forehead to the side and smiled at the boy next to me. Lying back, I continued to softly comb his hair away from his face, and as I fell back asleep only one thought entered my mind.

_I love you too, Arthur._

**GHDM**

BAM! I'M BACK!So hate me all you want but this thing has had me stuck for ages and then on my way home from the beach I was hit. I'd almost decided to abandon this thing. So I know it's short and it's kind of weird-ish but I PROMISE it will make sense in a bit. So tell me if you enjoyed, tell me if you hated, tell me if you're mad, and just tell me (but I'd always like it to be positive…..) I hope everyone's summer has been beautiful. Now that I've been bitten I think I'll be updating A LOT more often. HUGS AND KISSES.


	11. Chapter 11

I almost couldn't breathe, he was holding me that tight, but it wasn't uncomfortable. It was almost nice. No, it was nice. I couldn't help but let a smile creep across my face which was pressed to his broad toned chest as he cradled me against him. Although it was nice, I had to breathe at some point so grudgingly I moved slightly away so as to see his face. "Draco, I'm fine."

"You most certainly are not fine." He objected as he looked into my eyes, searching for something wrong. "You've been out for four days."

"That long, huh?" I asked, although I already knew the answer.

"Yes that long. Do you know how worried I was?" He exclaimed, causing me to giggle a bit. "This isn't funny Doll. You try going to classes while the love of your life is lying in the hospital on her death bed." We both stopped suddenly. _The love of my life? _Had those words really come out of the mouth of Draco Malfoy? He didn't take them back; they hung in the air around us. We looked into each other's eyes questioningly. For just a moment I saw him, and only him, looking into those stormy grey eyes and wondering if his words were true. Did Draco Malfoy truly love me?

"LYN?" A shout broke through the hospital wing causing the two of us to break apart like small children caught in the act. "I heard you were awake and I rushed to see you. I've just been so worried that I-" Suddenly Brian realized that he had walked in on a moment, "Oh, am I interrupting something?"

"No, not at all Brian." Draco brushed him off, putting up a mask as if nothing had happened.

"Oh good." The other boy smiled in relief. "How are you feeling? Does anything hurt?"

"I'm fine Brian. Perfectly fine, thank you." I sighed; we'd gone through this before, a few years ago when these episodes had been more frequent and much, much worse.

"What happened?" He asked.

"The same thing that always happens." I shrugged. "It's always the same."

"You mean this has happened before?" Draco gasped.

"Quite a few times." For some reason I couldn't look him in the eye, his words still confused me. Did he just indirectly tell me that he loved me? Or was it just a slip of the tongue? Arranged marriages had no love in them, ever. Why should this one be any different?

"Gwendolyn?" Brian called, "You there?"

"Oh yes, sorry. I'm just a little tired is all." I lied.

"We should let you get some rest then." Brian said as he began to fix the blankets around me, tucking me in like a concerned parent. "Now, I wrote to mommy and daddy Hasting about what happened."

"Brian." I groaned.

"They didn't seem too concerned, but Severus received quite the howler at breakfast this morning." He laughed, "You two should've been there."

"Two?" I asked.

"Oh yeah, Draco over here has only left your side when Madame Pomfrey forced him to go to classes. He's so adorable." Brian smiled.

"Really?" I looked at Draco questioningly.

"Yeah." He shrugged in reply.

"But we should let you rest. You've had quite the past few days." Brian fussed once more. "Sleep, Lyn I'll come back in the morning before class." He gave me a peck on the cheek before turning once more, "Are you coming Draco?"

"In a minute." The other boy replied. Brian nodded and walked out the door with a little wink in my direction. There was a long silence between the two of us. Neither would meet the others eye. "So this has happened before?" he said after finally breaking the silence.

"Yes." I whispered hoarsely.

"Oh." That was his only reply. There was more silence until, "Can you tell me about it?"

"I don't know if I can." I said running my hand through my crazy curls.

"Will you try?" He asked. It was then that I looked at him, eyes tired blood shot and full of concern underneath hair looking as if he hadn't showered in two days. It was in that moment that I realized Draco Malfoy might just love me. In that moment his slip up was not a slip up, it was the truth.

"When I was fourteen," I began "My brother Arthur died." Suddenly it was as if the past came alive once more, and I was sucked into it reliving the moments that I had tried so hard to forget. "I was away at school in New York and he had just graduated from here. It was mid October and it was raining and the roads were terrible. The witnesses said that he had been driving like a maniac, swerving and speeding like a crazy person. When he reached the bridge, though, he stopped. It was like he had to make some kind of decision. Then he turned the car and slammed the accelerator. He went air born and then, boom. His car was in the Thames. That night I had the first dream. It was like I was Arthur. I was reliving that moment. He was being chased, by someone, and to protect himself he had to drive off the bridge.

"HE sent me a message you know, when he stopped the car, he said I love you. Those were the last words he ever spoke. These dreams I have are of him in his final moments. Sometimes I relive him drowning in the car and I'm drowning too. There are times when I am the car and I try to keep him from the edge of the bridge but I can never do it. I wake up sobbing, inconsolable. I once spent an entire summer with Severus, trying to keep the dreams at bay. It worked. It worked until last night."

He didn't respond for a long time, but instead reached up to brush the tears off of my cheeks. It was then that I realized I'd been crying. All of a sudden I couldn't stop crying, and I was sobbing into his broad chest. Without realizing it he'd shifted onto the bed and was cradling me against him, protecting me from these dreams and from the world itself. "You're going to be okay, Gwendolyn Hasting, I swear."

"You're the best" I sniffed, pressing my forehead to his neck where it seemed to fit perfectly, and closing my eyes once more.

"Yeah," He replied, his tone sounding almost disappointed in my choice of words.

We sat there for a long time, just me and him, without interruption. My eyes drifted shut and the world was finally at peace where I lay in his arms. With my eyes shut I felt his lips press to my forehead once more, and I smiled sleepily. "Good night, Drake." I murmured.

"Good night luv." He replied.

_I could get used to this._

**GHDM**

"Try outs for this year's quidditch team will be held this Friday after dinner from 6 until I have a team. We are looking for two chasers, and alternates for all positions. First years, don't bother." I called out to the Slytherin common room. Immediately the room burst once more into excited conversation. This year Slytherin _would_ beat Gryffindor in the house tournament and win the house cup, I could feel it in my bones.

"Drakie poo!" A shrill voice called from across the room as I made my move to exit. "Won't you come here a minute." Sighing I ignored my better judgment and decided to appease my crazy ex.

"What do you want Pansy?" I asked simply, not even bothering to look at her.

"I was just wondering if you had a date for the Hogsmeade trip coming up." She smiled in a sickly sweet kind of way, causing my jaw to clench in irritation.

"No, Pansy, I do not." I replied. In all honesty with all that had happened in the past week I hadn't even thought about it. Hopefully Doll would be well enough to go come Saturday morning, but if not there was no way in hell that I would leave her alone in the castle.

"In that case," Pansy giggled, then leaned forward in her chair and allowing me a glance down her shirt which was hanging open well past the dress code, "Why don't we go together," She pouted, "For old times' sake."

"You know Pansy," I smiled politely; "There is nothing I would rather do less." With a curt nod, to her and the group of babbling idiots with whom she held court, I turned and left with as much haste that one could manage.

"Draco Malfoy, you _will _regret this one day." Parkinson seethed as I walked away "I promise you."

I waved my hand in acknowledgment, but never wavered in my escape. "Zambini!" I called to my best friend whose face was currently glued to Brian's. I loved Blaise like a brother, but sometimes he needed to learn discretion.

"What do you want Malfoy?" The boy asked in irritation.

"Nothing, just pretend you're talking to me and that it's really important." I prompted him as I sat down on the chair opposite the two.

"No." He replied and before I could protest went back to his previous activity, succeeding in grossing me out completely.

"If you don't talk to me Pansy Parkinson will walk over here in a rage, and then you two will never have peace." I said, using the subtle art of manipulation to get my way.

"Screw you Malfoy." Blaise seethed, but pulled away from Brian nonetheless. "What did you do to piss her off anyway?"

"Not important." I muttered, "I need you at tryouts Friday night."

"Draco!" He groaned, "You said that we didn't have to try out again, you promised."

"You don't!" I threw my hands up in defense, "We need chasers and I wanted you there so the goals aren't open."

"Screw you." He cursed.

"What are you guys talking about?" Brian asked as if we'd been speaking a foreign language.

"Well you see Brian, Malfoy over there is our beloved quidditch captain, which means that he decides who is on the team and who is not. It also means that he decides whether or not his current players have to sit through _hours _of tryouts. There will be countless drills, millions of complaints from scrawny third years, hundreds of bruises, and absolutely no fun on _my_ Friday night." Blaise over exaggerated, complete with hand gestures and dramatic sighs.

"It's not going to be that bad." I defended myself.

"Yes it will. Don't even lie to me Draco Malfoy. It will suck, and we will be miserable, and I will hate you forever." He groaned as he draped himself

"You will not." I rolled my eyes in irritation.

"What's quidditch?" Brian asked, shocking both Blaise and myself into silence.

I was the first to recover, "You don't know what quidditch is?" I questioned in astonishment.

"Sorry, no." He replied.

"Blaise," I said to my friend, "How is something like this even possible?"

"Maybe it's an American thing." My best friend replied.

"Will the two of you just get over yourselves and explain to me what the damn thing is?" Brian seethed.

"Quidditch is the sport of men." I replied.

"Quidditch is the sport of gods." Blaise corrected me.

"You two are ridiculous." Brian mumbled.

"Quidditch is the most important thing in the Wizarding world." I added.

"Quidditch is the most important thing in the _entire_ world." Blaise corrected me once more.

"I'm going to go talk to Eric; I'll see the two of you later." Brian groaned as he stood up and left us.

We sat in silence for a little while longer. "I can't believe he doesn't know what quidditch is." Blaise said in wonder.

"You're dating him not me." I threw my hands up.

"So when is Gwendolyn out of the hospital?" Blaise asked, changing the subject.

"I don't know." I answered honestly.

"Lame, man, if she's out by tomorrow you can take her to Hogsmeade on Saturday."

"I don't know if she'll be able to. She might be tired, or she may just not want to go or-"I was cut off by slender arms wrapping around my neck and a small head dropping down onto my shoulder.

"I hope you two weren't just talking about me."Gwendolyn smiled as she placed a peck on my cheek.

"Look whose back from the dead." Blaise smiled as he got up to hug her, which meant she removed her arms from where they'd previously laid.

"For good this time I hope." She laughed, plopping herself down on the couch next to me and cuddling up against my side.

"How are you?" I whispered in her ear.

"I'm fine, Draco." She rolled her eyes, "You just saw me before lunch, nothing has changed dummy."

"Are you sure?" I asked once more.

"If you don't quit worrying about me you'll get grey hair." She teased.

"It's my job to worry about you, love," I murmured as I placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. "You just woke up yesterday, why did Pomfrey let you out early?"

"I am a model patient in exquisite health." She boasted proudly, "And the Hufflepuff quidditch team had tryouts tonight, she needed all the extra beds she could get." We all laughed, "So what were you two talking about, I heard a she should I be jealous?"

"Oh incredibly jealous, love." Blaise joked. "Drakie poo over here was just asked to Hogsmeade by none other than Pansy Parkinson."

"Well isn't that just special." Doll replied icily, taking a moment to glare in Parkinson's direction; when the other girl just so happened to glare back, Doll surprised us both by kissing me hard on the mouth and turning to smile at Pansy once more. "Sorry, Drake," She apologized "I can't stand that bitch."

"Is Gwendolyn Hasting jealous of Pansy Parkinson?" I asked mockingly.

"The thought of her sticking those nasty little claws into my fiancé is just about as appealing as making out with Teddy Nott." She answered.

"Is that a yes?" I prompted.

"Yes." She looked up at me smugly and kissed me again, but this time softly.

"Get a room." Blaise groaned, getting up to go find Brian.

"Maybe we will." Gwendolyn shot back with a sultry smirk in Brian's direction; the look accompanied by her admitted jealousy drove me mad so I pulled her in for more.

_I could get used to this._

**GHDM**

**Yay chapter 11! Let me know what you all think and I'll try my very best to get another chapter up as soon as I can. Thanks to everyone who has subscribed and even bigger thanks to those who reviewed. I hope you liked it! Love you all!**


	12. Chapter 12

"Will you," I stuttered and lost the words in my mouth only to clear my throat once more, "I mean if you're available for this weekend," I attempted, "And I completely understand if you are otherwise engaged," The words refused to come out of my mouth.

"Draco," Gwendolyn looked at me with concern, "Is everything alright? You're not feeling ill are you?"

"No, no I'm perfectly alright. I just," I cleared my throat once more, "I was wondering if you would like to accompany me to Hogsmeade tomorrow." I finally spit it out, after babbling like a nervous first year for what felt like an hour.

"Of course, but" She began again with that look of concern "Are you feeling up to it?"

"What?" I smiled at her consent, "I couldn't be better."

"You're sweating like something's wrong," She continued as she stood up to place a hand on my forehead, "And you're hotter than blazes!"

"I'm perfectly fine." I beamed at her.

"You're crazy is what you are," She shook her head at me.

"I have to go to class, but I'll see you tonight at the tryouts right?" I asked hopefully.

"I'll be there." She confirmed with a smile, standing on her tip toes to place a kiss on my cheek, "I still think you have a fever Draco."

"I'm fine, love." I laughed as I turned to walk away, "They start at six!" I shouted over my shoulder.

"Go learn something!" She shouted back, causing me to laugh as I walked down the hallway. I couldn't believe Gwendolyn Hasting had turned me into a sweating, stuttering, nervous wreck. There wasn't a time in history that I'd ever been that nervous. _Women do some crazy things_, I thought to myself as I rounded the corner to potions just in time.

"It's about time, Malfoy." Theo joked as I sat in my seat in the middle of him and Blaise.

"Sorry, I had something to do." I said vaguely, pulling my textbook out of my bag and looking up to see Snape entering the room.

"Yeah, Gwendolyn Hasting." Crabbe laughed from behind me, causing the two next to me and behind me to burst into loud laughter.

"May I ask, gentlemen," Snape drawled from the front of the room, "What is so funny?"

"Nothing professor," I seethed from my seat in the back.

"Then I expect silence." My uncle drawled, as he turned to the board and wrote the potion we were to brew today, "Begin."

I read the instructions and set to work with Blaise and Theo as partners, who seemed to have everything but the assignment at hand on their minds.

"So, what are we looking at tonight?" Blaise asked as he stirred in the unicorn hair, "Is there any promising talent?"

"I won't know until I see it." I answered, turning up the heat ever so slightly.

"I have this feeling, Drake, it's our year." Theo grinned while crushing the guinea root.

"We'll see, Gryffindor always has a promising team." I replied grudgingly.

"Don't be such a worry wart Drakie poo." Blaise joked.

"Bite me." I said.

"We'll be the best, I have no doubts." Theo beamed.

"Can we just work on the assignment?" I asked my frustration and nerves getting the better of me.

"What do you think we're doing, mate." Blaise laughed as he placed gully root into the cauldron and it turned a bright purple.

"Chatting." I replied.

"Multitasking," Theo corrected. Suddenly there was a loud bang from the other side of the classroom. We all turned to see Seamus Finnigan covered in a green slime.

"Class dismissed," Shouted Snape from the front of the classroom, "On account of Mr. Finnegan's incompetence. Leave your potions where they are, I will grade your progress."

I grabbed my bag, supplies, and textbook and all but ran from the classroom thanking Merlin for such a lucky brake. Glancing at my watch, a muggle convenience I had grown to enjoy, I realized that I might be able to go for a ride around the pitch before supper.

_Life is good._

**GHDM**

"It's a piquet turn on the right foot not the left, Jenner." I corrected for the umpteenth time, "It makes going into the rande-jam smoother."

"Sorry, babe," he winked, forcing me to roll my eyes at the kid. We'd been rehearsing for _Billy Elliot _for the past week, and still Jenner was turning on the wrong foot, and making countless lazy mistakes. The kid was talented, of that I had no doubts, he just didn't care; he also had this giant crush on me which helped no one.

"You have to push on the leap!" I said once more. Instead of correcting it the little brat turned and waved at me again, setting me on edge. "Okay, let's call it a day." I said before I could beat the kid up. "I'll meet up with you here on Monday after dinner."

"Sounds like a date." The kid winked as he picked up his dance bag and ran to follow me as I walked out of the room. "So, do you have any plans this weekend?"

"Yes," I answered, turning a corner and picking up my pace in the hopes of shaking the brat.

"Darn, I was hoping you would help me perfect my technique." Jenner sighed cockily, as if 'perfecting my technique' was some sort of sexual innuendo; which it wasn't, I would know.

"You're on your own kid." I sighed, making another quick left towards the great hall.

"How about dinner, right now, I know this great little spot in the great hall-"He started but I cut him off.

"You know, Jenner, you're great, but umm…I'm with someone." I explained, holding up my left hand to show off my rock, "We're very happy, and-" then he cut me off with a silencing finger to my lips.

"Shhhh," he said, "He doesn't have to know. It can be our little secret."

"What's going on here?" a voice behind me asked. I quickly turned around to find a confused looking Draco in a very sexy quidditch getup.

"Oh thank god." I sighed, as I disentangled myself from the third year in front of me. "Draco, this is Jenner. He's playing Billy in _Billy Elliot_, the junior show, and we were just coming down to dinner. Jenner, this is Draco, my fiancée."

"It's nice to meet you, Jenny." Draco glared as he crossed his arms to flex his muscles.

"Right back at you, Drakie." Jenner glared back. The staring contest went on for a while until I broke it, by grabbing Draco's hand.

"So, where were you off to?" I asked, pulling Draco away from the much smaller kid in front of him.

"Try outs." He replied, still glaring at Jenner over his shoulder.

"Me too, let's walk together." I smiled, again, trying to drag Draco away, "Bye, Jenner."

"Bye, Gwen," He replied, "I'm counting down the hours until Monday."

Draco looked like he was about to hit the kid until I literally dragged him out of the door that led to the quidditch pitch. "So how was your day, Drake?" I asked, hoping to change the subject.

"Just peachy," he replied angrily, still glaring at the ground. "Who was that kid?"

"Just the lead in the show I told you I was choreographing. He's a mess, so we were working today, and of course we got nothing done because he kept hitting on me. So instead of hitting him I called it a day, and he asked me on I think four different dates, but I said no, but this kid can't take a hint so I-" I was cut off by Draco's laugh, as he pulled me towards his chest in a hug.

"You ramble too much love." He smiled, as he pressed a kiss on the top of my head.

"Sorry," I blushed.

"Come on, I have something to show you." He pulled me down towards the empty quidditch pitch and produced a shrunken broom from his pocket, which he quickly returned to its normal size. He mounted the broom and held his hand out for me to take.

"Oh no," I shook my head, backing away, "No thank you, I like my feet firmly on the ground thank you very much."

"Come on, Gwendolyn, take a chance." Draco smirked at me, still holding out his hand for me to take. He gave me one of the worlds sexiest pleading looks that I was having a hard time saying no to. After a few minutes of internal dialoging I ceded the battle.

"If I die it's your fault." I sighed, taking his hand. He settled me in front of him; with his chest against my back, his hands holding mine, and his chin resting on my shoulder.

"I'd never let that happen, love." He whispered. We rose into the air slowly, and I had to shut my eyes for fear of heights.

"I hate you, I hate you, I hate you." I squealed as we slowly rode forward.

"No you don't." Draco laughed, picking up the speed just a little. "Don't act like you don't love this."

"I hate you, I hate you, I hate you." I repeated over and over again, although he was a little bit right. Aside from the whole 'we're a million feet in the air' thing, I liked how he was holding me. I felt safe.

"Open your eyes, Doll, its okay." Slowly I let my eyelids open to see the most gorgeous view of Hogwarts I'd ever seen.

"Wow," I breathed, "It's beautiful." The sun was still in the sky, but its colors were fading into oranges and pinks casting an otherworldly glow on the castle. Hovering above the black lake I could see students lying beneath the trees, spending their Friday night with friends instead of in the library. Couples were scattered along the lawn, and I could see the Gryffindor tower Ginny had pointed out to me standing tall and shining brightly.

"Sometimes I like to just come out here to think, it always clears my head you know?" Draco said, startling me from my thoughts.

"Yeah, it's amazing."

"You're amazing." He muttered into my hair before placing a soft kiss below my ear lobe, my one weak spot. I fought the warm feeling in my stomach and gripped the broom tighter than was necessary to keep myself from doing something stupid.

"Stop," I sighed, not really convincing either of us that, that was what I wanted.

Draco smirked against my neck, "That's not really what you want is it?"

"No?" It came out as more of a question than an answer, which only prompted Draco to keep on with the enjoyable torture.

"How was your day love?" He asked barely pausing in his gentle assault.

"Ung," I started, causing him to laugh, _get it together Hasting_, "Fine."

"Good," He murmured, pulling my hair out of his way and continuing, "I missed you."

"I can tell," I smiled slightly. Suddenly a whistle blew from the quidditch pitch, Draco swore under his breath.

"I have to get back," He groaned angrily, "I just wanted to show you this while I had the chance." He

"Was that what you wanted to do?" I smiled, turning my head enough so as to place a light kiss on his lips, making the quiet frustration in his eyes turn to a mischievous glint.

"You may want to close your eyes again, Doll." He smirked from behind me.

"Why?" I asked, and then suddenly regretted it. We zipped forward at a much faster speed than before. My hair was whipping Draco in the face, _good, _as we raced toward the quidditch pitch once more. I snapped my eyes closed as he angled the broom downward without slowing down. I shrieked when he came to a sudden halt. Stepping off of the broom I turned to hit him squarely in the chest, "You jerk!" I shouted.

"Don't pretend you didn't love it Doll." He replied his face still plastered with that irritating smirk.

"Bite me," I rolled my eyes and turned to walk towards the stands.

"Is that an invitation?" He called to my retreating back.

"Depends," I turned to face him and the boys auditioning for the team, "Did you ever go see a doctor about that 'thing' we talked about?" I asked, indicating the lower half of his body. Upon the laughter of his teammates and the flush of Draco's face I fled from the scene, calling over my shoulder, "Then no, I guess."

Smiling I walked up to the stands and took a seat to watch the tryouts begin. Draco kept glancing at me from my spot above him, but you could see his new recruits looking scared shitless. I waved down at my fiancé as the new recruits flew, he winked up at me flashing a thousand watt grin that always made me smile.

_Life is good._

**GHDM**

"Thank you all for coming out tonight, the list will be in the common room in an hour. Good night, and congratulations to those of you who made it." With a sharp nod I dismissed them all, and looked up once again at Gwen who'd given up watching tryouts half an hour ago and was reading a script in the stands. I mounted my broom and flew up to where she sat. "Boo." I said, making her jump.

"Hey, you scared me." She laughed, "Did you find what you were looking for?"

"Not quite, but I'll whip them into shape." I nodded, dismounting the broom and sitting down beside her.

"Those were some intense auditions. A few of those poor kids could barely ride a broom." She sighed.

"They're called try outs, love." I laughed.

"Tomato, Tom_ah_to." She sang, looking back down at the script again.

"What's that?" I asked, reading over her shoulder.

"I'm looking for a new monologue for my text class, but I'm about to just give up." She said, chewing her lip and shrugging.

"Well in that case," I smiled, taking the script from her hands and closing it quickly, "Let's go back to the common room. I have to put the list up and I've barely seen you today."

"Sounds like a date." We stood up and I shouldered her bag.

"Shall we take the broom?" I asked with a smirk.

"Never again!" She half shrieked.

"Oh, come on!" I continued, "I know you liked it, just you and me up in the sky, all by ourselves." I joked.

"Whatever." She rolled her eyes. "I'm not going on that, that, thing!"

"Fine, we'll take the stairs." I conceded, taking her hand and leading her down them.

"I win." She stuck her tongue out, and started to run down the stairs ahead of me laughing.

"Oy! Come back here!" I shouted, running after her.

We raced all the way to the Slytherin common room, me mostly letting her win, until I really caught up with her and beat her to the portrait hole. "I win." I mocked, sticking my tongue out like she'd done before.

"I think it was a tie." Doll pouted, giving me the eyes that got her whatever she wanted.

"Whatever you say." I muttered, pulling her closely and properly snogging her breathless.

"Happy Friday." She joked when we finally pulled apart.

"That it is." I smirked, not letting go of her small waist with one hand and letting the other go up to play with her crazy curls.

"What are we doing tonight, then?" She rolled her eyes at me, and started playing with my quidditch shirt. "I hope a shower is on the list, because you reek."

"Was that an invitation?" I inquired; she only blushed in response and tried to hide behind her hair. "I'm kidding."

"No, you weren't!" She laughed.

"You're right, I wasn't." I winked as she pulled away from me.

"Well if we're objectifying women," she began, "then," and smacked my arse before running through the open portrait hole.

"Oy!" I shouted, chasing after her. "That wasn't nice."

"Poor Drakie." Doll mocked, as she hid behind Blaise and Theo.

"What did you say?" I asked. Her laughing had grown softer and was more of a quiet giggle; the childlike sound was something I had not thought could come out of Gwen's mouth.

"She called you Drakie, mate." Blaise stated in annoyance, "Now might I ask what this is all about, because Teddy and I were trying to study before we were so _rudely_ interrupted."

"We were not!" Theo laughed, "And don't call me Teddy."

"Aw, come on Blaisiekinz, you know you love me." Gwen pouted over his shoulder.

"Well, you I love, its Draco that I'm angry with." Blaise fixed me with an intense glare.

"What'd I do?" I asked.

"Look over there." Blaise pointed to the group of Slytherins that had been at the try out huddled around the bulletin board, "They've been standing there since 8, when the list was supposed to be up. Do you know what time it is Draco?"

"After eight?" I asked.

"Yes. Now if you wouldn't mind, can you just put the poor kids out of their misery?" Blaise continued to glare.

"Yeah, yeah." I muttered, "Hand me some parchment would you?" Blaise rolled his eyes, but Theo handed me a sheet of parchment and a quill. I quickly wrote the list down and walked over to the crowd. "Congratulations to the new team, for those of you who didn't make it, better luck next year."

I quickly stepped out of the crowd and made my way back over to my friends, "Happy?"

"Very," Blaise drawled as he sat down on the couch.

"Where's Brian?" Gwendolyn asked.

"He said something about a practice room?" Blaise muttered angrily.

"What about a practice room?" Doll asked again.

"How should I know?" Blaise blew up. "It's not like we have to know what the other is doing every hour of the day."

"Are you two okay?" I asked.

"Just fine," He seethed.

"You don't seem just fine," Doll stated with a raised eye brow.

"Whatever." Blaise muttered, opening a textbook and burying his head in it.

Doll pulled me aside, "I need to go find Bri." She looked concerned.

"But what about our plans?" I whined, sounding like a child even to myself.

"You needed to shower anyway," She countered, "I'll meet you in the dorm in half an hour."

"But," I started only to be cut off by her lips against mine, "Fine," I ceded with a sigh making her smile. "You have half an hour."

"You're the best." She grinned, taking off toward the portrait hole.

_Women!_

**GHDM**

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas, and a Happy Hanukah. Sorry it took me a thousand years to update, but I've been crazy busy. I hope this is to your specifications and you should all expect an update before New Year's! Happy holidays and maybe review if you're feeling the giving spirit?


	13. Chapter 13

I ran down the corridor, hanging a hard left at the Ballerina's portrait and stopping in front of the portrait of Julius Caesar. "Password?" The gentlemen in the picture asked as I bent to catch my breath.

"Thespis," I wheezed as I clutched the stitch in my side. He looked at me with disdain as I half limped past him and into the narrow hall way lined with doors. The hallway had been created for our school to use as practice rooms instead of dormitories as they had been originally intended. There was something about artists being very private in their rehearsing that made the heads change the rooms' purpose, I had no idea what they meant by that. I snorted at myself for that one. "Come on, Bri, where are you?" I whispered as I slowly walked down the hallway listening for his voice.

The hall seemed empty, except for one room at the end where a guitar could be heard, but Brian didn't play guitar. Plus, there was nothing I'd rather do less than walk into that room. Guitar players and I have a bad history.

As I was just about to turn around and walk out of the hallway I heard a loud curse come from the room next to me. Immediately I knew the voice to be Brian's, without hesitation I opened the door. "Brian?"

"Get out!" He shouted without even looking in my direction.

"Brian, what the hell?" I asked as I took in the state of the room around us. The chair was turned over on its side, sheet music scattered on the floor, and blood was running down Brian's face and hands.

"It's nothing." He stood up strongly, but as he turned away I heard a soft sob escape from his mouth.

"What happened?" I asked again, this time softly.

"I fell." He shrugged, dropping to the floor to pick up the music and to hide from me.

"Bull shit."

"Nope." He shrugged again.

"Brian, I'm not an idiot." I said angrily.

"I never said you were."

"So you expect me to believe that you 'fell' and the bookshelf hit you on your way down?" I was yelling now, truly pissed. I even used air quotes.

"Don't," He seethed.

"No, you don't get to tell me what I can and can't do. And you're not allowed to say you fell. We both know that's a lie."

"You want me to tell you that I got the shit beaten out of me by the Slytherin goonies?" He screamed, immediately I stopped my assault, "You want me to tell you that they threatened to kill him if I didn't break up with Blaise and never speak to him again? Fine, I'll tell you."

"Brian," I started.

"No, Gwendolyn, I can't right now." He was crying for real now, not the pathetic child like tears, but the tears that come silently without so much as a breath and stream down your face unable to be wiped away. I knew these kinds of tears, I'd shed them.

"Then don't." I whispered as I wrapped my arms around him. He broke then, sobbing like a child, and it broke my heart to watch it. For a long time he stayed there in my arms, broken and bleeding, without saying a word. Shaking in my arms as he fell apart at the seams, my heart broke for him. Brian didn't cry, not in real life, he was strong and always full of positivity. "It's okay," I murmured in hopes of convincing myself that I really was.

"I can't Lyn," He sniffed once the sobs had quieted, "I can't not be with him, but I can't be with him."

I hushed him, then took a big breath, "Brian, we need to talk to someone."

"Who?" He scoffed like I'd suggested that we become prostitutes.

"Severus," I answered in all seriousness, "He can take care of this. They're his guys, he'll make sure neither of you get hurt."

"What if he can't?" He murmured, the tears had stopped for real now, but he hadn't quit shaking. We sat with our backs to the wall as we stared at the other in thought.

"He can." I nodded, "I swear."

Brian didn't say anything for a long time. He continued staring at the wall opposite us. I took his hand in mine, a symbol of the comradery between us; he only held mine limply unable to feel. The bleeding above his left eye had grown worse, and was now gushing; I took out my wand to fix it. "Don't bother," He said finally, "It's some spell, you can't heal it with magic. I tried." His eyes filled with tears again, but he didn't dare let them fall, instead he turned away from me and looked out the small window that opened towards the black lake. "Do you ever wonder if it's worth it?" He asked.

"If what's worth it?" I replied.

"All of it." He shrugged, still looking out the window.

"It's worth it," I answered immediately "Everything."

He laughed without humor, "Maybe."

I couldn't tear my eyes away from my best friend for the longest time. There was something about this whole situation that made me want to hunt down those ass holes and murder them myself, but there was something else about the way Brian looked that made me stay. Something told me that if I left him it would be the last time I'd see him. "Let me at least try to stop the bleeding." I said, desperate to do something for him.

He said nothing as I ripped off the bottom strip of my t-shirt off to use as a bandage. I slowly wrapped the fabric around his head as tightly as I could, hoping that it was enough to stop the bleeding. It wasn't.

"Get up." I commanded, he either ignored me or didn't hear me. Either way, he didn't stand. "Brian, stand up." Still he ignored me. "Stand up, Bri." I nudged him with my sneaker.

"What's the point?" His words were slurring.

"How long have you been in here?" I asked, glancing down at my watch, it was a quarter after nine.

"A while." He shrugged.

"How long Brian?" I was yelling again.

"A little after six." His slur was worse.

"You've been in here, bleeding, for over three hours?" I shrieked.

"Has it been that long?"

"Get up, we need to go." I ordered, grabbing one of his arms and putting it around my shoulder. I hauled him up to a standing position and nearly fell from his weight. I practically dragged him out into the hallway and past the portrait screaming for help. My wand was of no use now, as levitation wasn't my strong suit, and there was no way that I could get him to Severus' office without killing him. "Someone help!" I screamed again. As I dragged him down the corridor, I thought I heard footsteps. "Hey!" I shouted, nearly buckling under the weight, "Hey, please! Help!" The footsteps came closer.

"Gwen?" It was Harry.

"Oh thank God, help me."

"What happened?" He asked quickly as he took Brian's other arm and took most of his weight.

"Some guys beat him up, and he's been bleeding like that for over three hours, and I have to get him to Severus." I was crying now, trying to move as quickly as I could.

"Why Snape?" He asked, "Madame Pomfrey's a healer."

"We can't use magic." I replied, we were so close to Severus' classroom. "Almost there Bri," He groaned in response.

"Who did this?" Harry asked.

"I don't know." I cried, as I felt Brian's head fall, "No, come on Bri, stay awake. You have to stay awake."

"Get Snape, I can carry him the rest of the way." Harry nodded, getting a better grip on my friend as I ran towards Severus' room.

"Severus?" I shouted as I opened the door. "Severus!" I yelled again. Running towards the door that led to his chambers I banged on it as hard as I could, "Sev! I need your help!" I was close to sobbing until the door opened to reveal the man without his usual billowing robes on.

"Gwendolyn, what's wrong?" He asked, taking in my state of obvious distress.

"It's Brian. He got beaten up by your students and I can't heal his wounds with magic. He's been bleeding for hours and now he's almost passed out. Help him, please." I sobbed, unable to control myself any longer.

"Where is he?" Severus asked, striding past me and into his class room just as Harry dragged him into the classroom. "Shit," he whispered, taking in Brian's appearance. "Put him on that table Potter, and then take Gwendolyn out of here."

"No, I can't leave him." I cried hysterically, "I can help you."

"Potter, get her out." Severus grunted through his teeth as he worked his magic on Brian, literally.

Harry grabbed my hand and began to lead me out of the room. "Let go of me." I jerked my hand from Harrys grasp and started to run back towards Brian.

"Potter!" Severus shouted.

I felt Harrys strong arms wrap around my waist and begin to carry me from the room and into the hallway. "No," I fought, but Harry was too strong. By the time my feet were on the floor again the door had been shut.

"Gwen," Harry said trying to soothe me, "It's okay, he'll be fine."

"No he won't" I shouted, trying to get around Harry and to the door but failing miserably. "He needs me."

"He needs Snape." Harry replied. I broke down then, worse than what I'd already done. My legs could no longer support my weight and I fell to my knees so hard that it would surely leave bruises. But the pain was good, it distracted my mind. I couldn't breathe as the sobs wracked my body. The only thing I felt was pain, pain and grief. Those feelings were soon accompanied by warm arms wrapping themselves around me, quieting my sobs as my head fell onto Harry's chest. "It's okay."

"No it's not." I cried, my body once again shaking so violently in way that I didn't think possible.

"Snape will make it okay." He said as he pulled me away from his chest to look into my eyes, "Snape, although an ass hat at times, is brilliant and if he can't help your friend then no one can." He almost had me convinced.

"Promise?" I asked pitifully

"Swear." He replied. I started crying again, more from emotional trauma than anything else. Harry sensed that I just needed to cry and sat silently, rubbing soothing circles on my back, allowing me to do just that. After a while, my sobs turned to quiet sniffs, and I was able to sit up without Harrys help. We sat silently for a while; he looked at me as if he wanted to say something but stayed silent.

"Thank you." I smiled weakly, using my jacket sleeve to wipe my tears. "I didn't mean to get so," I started but just shrugged in finish "God, I'm a mess"

"What happened, Gwen?" Harry asked, ignoring my thanks and attempt at a joke.

"I don't know." I shrugged. "He said that some Slytherins threatened to kill Blaise if they didn't break up, and that was after they hit him."

"Who?" He asked again.

"Do you think if I knew I'd be here?" I sighed; I started to cry again, this time angrily. Harry pulled me into his chest again, letting me cry again over something I had no control over. "I can't lose him." I sobbed, "He's all I have left."

"What about Malfoy?" Harry countered.

"What about him?" I replied, "It's an arranged marriage. No matter how great it is today ten years from now he'll have a mistress, and a drinking problem, and I'll be all alone with his kid at home."

"You can't really think that." He sighed.

"How can I not?" I cried again. "I'll end up like my parents with Brian, Harry, if he dies I might as well just off myself to."

"Hey," Harry grabbed my chin between his fingers, forcing me to look into his bright green eyes, "You will not off yourself, and you are not alone. There's me, Ginny, Ron, Hermione, and all of your friends from school. There's no way that you would be alone."

"Promise?" I asked, my sobs quieted for the moment.

"I swear." He replied, whipping a stray tear from my cheek. I looked into Harry's eyes and saw that he meant every word he said. In the silence that followed, neither of us said anything. I nuzzled my head against Harry's shoulder, remembering Arthur but not in a sad way. Harry's gesture although kind and sweet, seemed to be one made out of concern and not laced with ulterior motives. "And Gwen?" He asked, breaking the comfortable silence between us.

"Yeah?" I sniffed, not looking away from the wall opposite us.

"I don't think Malfoy would ever get a mistress." He said.

"What?"

"I've seen the way he looks at you." Harry simplified. "I don't think you'd ever be alone with him, Gwendolyn."

"Why do you say that?" I asked.

"He loves you." He shrugged, confusing me even more

_I hate them all_. _Right?_

**GHDM**

It had been an hour.

Now, I had never been one to get frustrated over a girl being late, living with my mother I'd grown accustomed to it, but for some reason I could sense that something wasn't right. I shot Blaise a farewell nod as I headed out of the dormitory and towards the common room exit.

In my mind I ticked off the various places that Doll might be. The library was out of the question, she had no clue how to get there. I seriously considered checking the hospital wing, but decided to use that as a last resort. Before I could even think of another place she might be, I heard voices sobs coming from Snape's classroom. I rounded the corner only to find my fiancé snuggled in the arms of none other than Harry Potter.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, Potter?" I spat, grabbing my wand from my pocket and pointing it at the boy who stood up with his hands in defense.

"I was just helping Gwen, Malfoy." He replied through clenched teeth.

"By molesting her?" I growled, exaggerating just a tad.

"By comforting her." Potter corrected me snarkily.

"Drake?" Doll asked, giving me a look I'd never seen before. I paused for a minute to look at her tear stained cheeks and the blood on her shirt.

"What happened?" I growled again at scar head, pointing my wand back toward his chest.

"I found her screaming for help, dragging some guy covered in blood through the corridor. Thanks to you and your goonies, he got the shit beaten out of him. Way to go." Potter seethed.

"What?" I asked, appalled that anyone would think me or my friends capable of such a thing, well most of my friends.

"I found Brian bleeding, and crying in a practice room. He said some of the Slytherin guys threatened to kill Blaise unless they broke up. So Bri dumped him, and then they beat the shit out of him." Doll walked into my chest, burying her head in it and began to sob.

"Is he okay?" I asked, thinking of the boy that had become my friend these past few weeks but also of my best friend who had no idea that his boyfriend lay bleeding in the potions classroom.

"Snape's been in there a while." Potter answered. "He'll come out once he's done."

I looked up at Potter, one of the few people on the planet who I hated more than anything else, and felt something other than total loathing. I felt respect. As I held my sobbing fiancé in my arms and looked up at the kid I'd bullied for the last seven years, I felt like the ass hole. Neither of us said anything to the other, but I knew that he knew what I wanted to say but was too stubborn to admit. I was thankful.

Suddenly, the door to the potions class room opened to reveal an even paler than usual bloodstained potions master. He looked exhausted and gazed at Gwendolyn sadly before nodding in my direction. "I did everything I could" He shrugged, immediately Doll's knees gave out, the only thing keeping her upright was me. "It'll be a while before he's better, but he'll live." Severus nodded again.

"He's alive?" Doll croaked, unable to believe her ears.

"He's very weak, but yes he's alive." Severus smiled at her.

"Oh Sev," She cried, throwing her arms around the older man and crying again. "Can I go see him?"

"He's sleeping." He replied.

"Please?" Doll looked at him with the same eyes that she always used on me and received a reluctant nod. She ran inside.

"Draco, Potter, a word?" Severus asked us after Gwen's departure. "I don't know who did this, but I want to find out tonight"

"She said it was a group of Slytherin boys." Potter said with a nod, "They threatened to kill Zambini if Brian didn't break up with him, and then they beat him up. At least that's what Gwen told me."

"Draco, figure it out." Snape seethed, "Potter, go get Madame Pomfrey and fill her in, then go find Dumbledore."

"Yes, sir." Harry nodded before turning to run down the corridor.

"Potter!" Severus called stopping the Gryffindor in his tracks, "Thank you." The other boy paused before nodding and resuming his task.

" Who do you think it was?" I asked quietly glancing back towards the door.

"Could have been anyone." Severus replied through clenched teeth, "They were definitely older; no first year could have done that kind of damage."

"It couldn't have been anyone of the quidditch team, we had tryouts at six." I said.

"He's been bleeding for a while; all they would have needed is a free twenty minutes." He replied.

"Crabbe, and Goyle, weren't at dinner." I whispered.

"They wouldn't have." Sev looked at me incredulously.

"Yes, they would." I seethed. "I'll kill them." I turned away from my uncle and began to storm up the corridor only to be stopped by him.

"Draco, stop acting like a child." He chastised me. "You have no evidence."

"I don't need any." I shrugged him off.

"Just wait." The older man said, I looked down at him. He looked exhausted. Covered in blood and sweat, I wondered how much this man had really done to save Brian.

"Did you really save him?" I asked.

"He's alive."

"That didn't answer my question." I stated.

"He's in a coma." Severus sighed, "He's alive, and he'll be okay, but he lost a lot of blood. I had to put him in a coma so his body could heal."

"So when his bodies okay just wake him up." I smiled reassuringly.

"It's not that simple, Draco. The body has to wake itself up. I can't do it."

"Why not?"

"If I were to wake him up now, there could be damage to his brain. The amount of blood that was lost can be easily replaced with potions and spells, but to prevent damage to the part of his brain that allows normal function, he has to wake himself up."

"And there's nothing we can do about that?" I whispered.

"No." He replied

_I hate them all. Right? _

**GHDM**

So it wasn't exactly the speedy update that I'd planned for, but hey I'm human. So I hope you all had a happy new year, and that you've enjoyed this chapter. I took a few liberties with this whole situation, so don't go crazy. I will update again as soon as I can. Have a happy day, and maybe leave a review if you're feeling it. Love and hugs!


	14. Chapter 14

"Hey Bri, it's me, Lyn. I miss you. Blaise misses you. Draco even misses you." I said softly to the sleeping boy before me. "You missed Halloween." My breathing hitched, "There was a big feast and we did Rocky Horror, I was Janet. Draco wasn't too happy about the whole underwear thing, but who cares." I laughed shakily. "Sev says that you're fine, everything's fine, so just wake up." Tears began to wet my cheeks, "Come on, Bri, just wake up." He didn't move. "Thanksgiving is in a few days, you have to be awake. They're having a feast again." Nothing, "Damnit Brian, just wake up!" I was sobbing by now. Words could not describe the pain I was feeling. "I need you! Blaise needs you. You selfish jackass just wake up!" Still nothing. "Please." I sobbed. Still he remained silent, as he always did. Nothing would wake him, we couldn't use spells or potions and hope was dwindling. Draco came to visit only when I insisted, and Blaise had stopped coming all together. I think it broke his heart more than anything else to see Brian laying there unmoving. There was nothing we could do, and that was the worst pain of all.

"Miss. Hasting, visiting hours are over." Madame Pomfrey said gently when she saw me.

"Sorry, I was just-"I whipped my tears quickly, unable to finish my sentence for fear of crying once more.

"I know dear," She smiled, "You can come back tomorrow if you wish."

"I'll see you then," I nodded failing to smile. As I exited the hospital wing that had become more of a house to me in the past two months I was unable to keep my tears at bay any longer. Gripped with a knot of pain in my stomach I slid down the wall next to me and sobbed harder than before.

"Gwendolyn?" A voice called, walking towards me. "Are you alright?"

"No," I cried as I looked up into the face of Hermione Granger, "He won't wake up."

"Hush now," She comforted me, sliding down the wall and placing her arm over my shoulders. "You'll be okay." Her words stopped me for a moment. For the first time since the accident someone had regarded the situation without bringing Brian into it. Hermione didn't say 'he'll be okay' or 'it's okay' she said I'd be okay. And would I? My tears had subsided as I mulled over this idea, and Hermione took that as a sign. "Let's get you to bed, yeah?"

"Okay." I surrendered, and like a child she led me to the Slytherin common room. We walked in silence for what felt like an eternity before I broke it. "What do you think I should do?" I said unfeelingly.

"What?"

"What do you think I should do?" I asked again.

"You could move on and forget all about him for the moment, and just pretend you don't care if he wakes up." She looked at my expression of horror and smiled a bit like she'd been kidding. "Or, you could put it on the back burner; focus on your studies to distract yourself. It's a way of ignoring the fact that he isn't with you."

"Is that what you do with Ron?" I asked quietly.

"What?" Hermione asked with red tinged cheeks.

"Do you focus on your studies to ignore the fact that Ron isn't with you? "I clarified.

She was quiet for a while as we continued walking. Over the past two months I'd grown quite close to the group of Gryffindors and had wondered why Ron and Hermione weren't together. It was blatantly obvious that the two of them were completely in love with each other, but both of them were too stubborn to budge first. "Yes," she finally said "I focus on my studies to forget about Ronald."

"But why?"

"I'm scared," she answered after a while.

"You're scared?" I almost laughed, "He's practically in love with you!"

"Stop it, he is not."

"That's the biggest lie I've ever heard" I rolled my eyes.

"Well, even if he is he would never ask me out." She sighed, picking up her pace.

"You could ask him out." I shrugged as I trudged behind her.

"What?" She asked, turning to face me.

"You could ask him out." I repeated. "This isn't the dark ages, you're a strong woman, and you should be able to make the first move."

"What if he says no?" She looked back at me unsurely, and I could tell that she was genuinely concerned.

I snorted at the display before me. "Yeah, right." I said sarcastically. We'd reached the common room by now, and I was almost sad to see Hermione leave, but I knew she needed to do this tonight. "Hey Hermione," I called.

"Yes?" She asked, turning around to look back at me.

"Break a leg." I shrugged. She smiled at me as she ran off towards the Gryffindor house with a new kind of pep in her step. Slowly, I turned toward the portrait of Salazar Slytherin and spoke the password quietly. Without a sound I walked up to the seventh year boy's dorm and saw the curtains on Draco's bed pulled. Instead of knocking, as usual, I bypassed the first step and climbed into bed with my fiancé. He jumped, but soon realized it was me.

"Doll," he whispered, but upon seeing my face quieted drastically. "You're okay." He soothed me without being prompted. Yet, there was that phrase again, and for the second time tonight I really wondered if he was right; if they both were.

_Am I okay?_

**GHDM**

Christmas was coming up, and still Brian was unconscious. There was something odd about the silence in the dormitories today. The PASOM boys rarely laughed anymore, and I felt like I was tiptoeing around them, unable to speak for fear of breaking the sullen silence. Doll had practically moved into my bed, not that I was complaining, but it was more for comfort than for pleasure. Thankfully though, she'd stopped spending all her free time in the hospital wing. Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays were spent in there, and every other waking moment was devoted to school. I wasn't forgotten, but I wasn't a priority. Gwendolyn Hasting had become a shell who rarely spoke, and barely ate. She looked frail and tired, her smile no longer reached her eyes and her kisses were as obligatory as ever. I loved her, but I was beginning to wonder if she would ever be able to love me too.

"Doll," I called to the girl cuddled against my side, "What are you doing for Christmas?"

She was silent for a long time, "I don't know." She finally answered.

"Will you come home with me?" I asked delicately, wondering if she would even consider leaving Brian alone in the castle for three weeks.

"Okay." She sighed, looking up into my eyes sadly. "Brian's mum is coming here for Christmas."

"Then you should stay." I rewound, not caring that I would spend my Christmas without her.

"I can't" She said tearfully. "I can't look at her, not now."

"It's not your fault love." I replied, cupping her face in my hands and whipping away her tears with my thumbs. "None of this is your fault."

"It's mine." A voice behind us said numbly.

"Blaise," I started.

"No, Draco, this is all, my fault and you both know it. So stop the pretending, both of you, if it weren't for me Brian would be fine." He declared without feeling.

"Blaise, this isn't anyone's fault." I tried again.

"Draco's right." Gwendolyn whispered. "There's nothing either of us could have done to prevent this." I was almost stunned, I'd been telling her that for months but she'd never acknowledged me. "We have to be strong for when he wakes up, or else he'll fall apart."

"Is Gwendolyn Hasting here?" A small voice called out to the common room.

"Yes," Doll stood up.

"Madame Pomfrey sent me to tell you that you're needed in the hospital wing. She said it was an emergency." The first year stumbled. Immediately Doll ran out of the common room without so much as a word to Blaise and me. The two of us looked at each other and followed.

For a girl so small, Gwendolyn was fast. We didn't catch up to her until she'd reached the hospital wing. She stood at the entrance, unblinking. "Gwendolyn?" I asked gently. She turned to me with wide eyes.

"What if he's dead?" She murmured.

"What if he isn't?" I replied. There was a look in her eyes that I'd never seen before in my life, one that I would remember until the day that I died. Her hand reached up to my face, where she cupped it gently. Without warning she kissed me with more feeling than ever. Words cannot describe the heat or the passion of that kiss, and as we stood there in front of the hospital wing kissing words could not describe the love I had for this woman.

Almost as quickly as it had started it was over and with the innocence of a child; Doll put her hand in mine and led me into the hospital wing. As the doors swung open I nearly said the words I'd been dying to say, yet something stopped me. It was a small thought in the back of my head that was always there.

_Am I okay? _

**GHDM**

I ran to him as soon as I saw his eyes, the eyes that I had been unable to look at for so long. They blinked in confusion as I ran, but widened in realization as I neared. He was sitting up with the help of pillows; he was so weak he couldn't do it himself. As I held him to me, his eyes filled with tears yet he did not say anything. "You're okay." I cried into his chest. He nodded in reply. I repeated those words over and over again as if they were some kind of mantra. For a while I sat there, forgetting about everyone else in the room. Then I felt Brian begin to move away from me. I looked into his eyes to see a look I'd never seen before. Following his gaze, I knew exactly what that look was.

"Blaise," He croaked like a man who hadn't spoken in years. "I'm sorry."

I felt a hand pull me away from my best friend, as Blaise ran into his arms. "I'm sorry," Blaise whispered through his tears. And then I realized how wrong this moment was. Looking at the man who held his hand in mine, I led him away so that we might give the two of them some privacy.

"He's okay." I said once the doors to the hospital wing were closed behind us.

"Told you so," Draco replied cheekily.

"I'm sorry," I whispered after a moment.

"What could you possibly be apologizing for?" He asked with a smirk.

"Don't give me that look," I blushed, "You know exactly what I'm apologizing for. I've been nothing for almost 3 months now."

"You're not nothing," he said seriously.

"I said I've _been_ nothing. It wasn't fair to you."

"You know what hasn't been fair, Doll?" he asked me, pushing a strand of hair from my face.

"What?" I blushed again.

"Everything," he murmured.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked, confused and almost angry.

"Your brother dying," He began

"What?"

"This whole engagement," He said.

"Excuse me?"

"You're coming here." He smirked.

"Where is this going?"

"Brian getting hurt," he continued.

"Draco Malfoy-"I began but was cut off by his finger to my lips.

"The fact that I'm completely in love with, but so afraid to say so in case you don't love me too," he finished.

"What?" I asked.

"I love you." He replied. He stood waiting for me to answer him, but my mouth couldn't form the words that I wanted so desperately to say. Slowly his face faltered, his shy smile returned to the mask he'd once worn so long ago before 'everything'.

"Gwen," A voice behind me called, "Brian wants to see you."

"I'll be there in a second." I said without looking back. I waited to hear the door close. "Drake."

"Yes, Gwendolyn." He replied stonily, barely glancing in my direction.

"Look at me." I begged. His glance barley wavered. "I'm so sorry."

I turned away from him, unable to look at the mask any longer. As I walked towards the door I couldn't help but let the tears run down my face, and allow the words I wanted so much to say race through my mind unspoken.

_I love you too. _

**GHDM**


	15. Chapter 15

He regarded me silently, unfeelingly, as we boarded the train together. We'd hardly spoken since that night outside the hospital wing two weeks ago. His once warm blue eyes had become cold steely gray, and he never smiled anymore. I would never have come home with him over the break if it hadn't been for Brian. He'd decided to go home with Blaise over the holiday, and his mum would stay with them too. He didn't want me alone at Hogwarts over Christmas. I couldn't help but think to myself that maybe Christmas alone would be better than Christmas like this.

"Anything from the trolley, dears?" The old woman called as she passed our cabin. Draco stood quickly.

"Two chocolate frogs and a licorice wand." He drawled calmly, using the same cold tone he'd been using with me all week. He tossed me one of each of the sweets as he sat down. Draco hated licorice wands, but they were my favorite, maybe he didn't hate me after all.

"Thank you," I murmured, trying to catch his eye but failing. Blaise and Brian had found their own cabin, Nott was off with some girl, and Crabbe and Goyle were still at the castle; which meant we had the compartment to ourselves. "Draco, we need to talk." I started.

"Yes, we do." He drawled in his cold tone. "Mother wants to go dress shopping with you tomorrow at noon; she won't be at dinner tonight and asked me to relay the message."

"That's not what I meant." I groaned.

"Then what did you mean, Gwendolyn?" He sighed.

I froze up under his steely gaze, and unable to say anything else, I repeated the words I'd spoken a thousand times. "I'm sorry, Drake."

He finally looked me in the eye, and I saw him waver for a moment but then just as soon as it appeared the look disappeared. It was replaced by the same steel like impression that froze me to the bone. "The past is the past, Gwendolyn, and I think it should be kept that way." He replied. His words cut me like a knife. Without so much as a look at me, he turned to face the window once again.

I picked up the play I'd been reading to keep the tears at bay, and it worked. For the entire train ride we sat ignoring one another, and when the train stopped at Kings Cross Station, he stood to grab both our trunks leaving me to follow behind him.

"Lyn!" a bright jubilant voice called out as I followed Draco along the platform. "You have to come over for New Years, Blaise said that his mom throws this huge ball and we're all invited. Please, please come."Brian begged.

"I'll be there." I smiled for the first time in hours.

"So, how's lover boy?" Brian asked in a more hushed tone.

"Not really lover boy at all." I sighed, looking at Draco as he talked to his father farther up the platform.

"You have to tell him, Lyn, or else it'll be like this forever." Brian replied, always the irritating voice of reason.

"I can't, Bri. He can't know." I stared at him in desperation, receiving no sympathy whatsoever.

"Yes he can, babe, he loves you." He said simply.

"Not anymore, Bri." I shrugged.

"He loves you. He's just hurting." He replied, pulling me in for a fast hug, "I've got to go."

"Take it easy, Bri." I called as he hurried off.

"You sound like my mother!" He shouted. I laughed quietly to myself as I made my way over to the two Malfoy men.

"Mr. Malfoy." I smiled politely, extending my hand for a greeting.

"Please, Gwendolyn, call me Lucius." My soon to be father in law smirked as he brought my hand up to his lips. "Shall we?" He asked, extending his arm for me to take. Nodding in reply, I glanced back at Draco whose face had not changed a bit, and whose hands clutched our trunks with knuckles white as snow. "Come along, Draco."

One week. One entire week without so much as a touch. He looked at me unfeelingly, his words held no real meaning, and dinners had been silent. I think it was the silence that hurt me the most.

Narcissa took me wedding dress shopping the day after we'd arrived, and I couldn't help but wonder what would happen. Sure we'd get married, there was a contract, but after that there would be children. Would those children ever really know there father as I once had? At the moment it seemed as if they wouldn't.

Brian's letters kept me sane. He wrote about Blaise, and what they had been up to, he even invited Draco and I over for dinner after Christmas. I'm tempted to decline. The thought of spending time with such a happy couple killed me.

So there I sat, Christmas Eve, alone.

"Gwendolyn, darling, are you sure that I can't tempt the two of you to join Lucius and I this evening? The party will be fabulous. Everyone who's anyone will be there." Narcissa smiled across the room.

"No, thank you, Narcissa; Draco and I have plans." I smiled politely, lying through my teeth.

"Oh? What kind of plans dear?" She giggled excitedly.

"It's a surprise." Draco cut in, saving me from lying to his mother once again.

"Well, then," Narcissa beamed, "Lucius and I will leave you to it."

"Have a nice time, mother." Draco said coldly, helping her into her coat.

"You too darling," she winked, "Lucius, are you ready?"

"Yes, dear," The older man sighed, standing from his place in the sitting room. "Good evening." He nodded to Draco and I as he swept his wife from the house. Draco and I stood in silence for a moment, just staring at one another.

"I'm going to bed." He announced, turning quickly from the door.

"It's barely 10:00." I protested.

"The early bird," he drawled, climbing the stairs gracefully leaving me alone for real this time.

_Merry Christmas_

**GHDM**

To say I was angry would be a lie, and yet I was angry. To say I was hurt would be an understatement, yet that was the only word to describe it. To say I was being a prick would be the truth, yet there was nothing else I knew how to be. Lying in bed all I could think about was my anger. I was angry at myself for ever having bared my heart at all. Malfoys do not say 'I love you' and I should have known that it would bite me in the ass. There was no cure for the unbearable pain I felt in my chest, knowing that the woman I loved didn't love me too. Looking at her everyday had become another source of my pain. Seeing the ring on her finger and knowing that I would still have to marry her killed me. But here she was, in my house, asking forgiveness, and I couldn't give it to her.

As I sat wallowing I heard a knock at the door. "Can I come in?" It was her. I thought about saying no, I did, but I wanted to see her face. Some sick sadistic part of me liked the fact that I was causing her as much pain as she was causing me. I'm going to hell right?

"What do you want?" I spat as I opened the door.

"I wanted to talk to you," She murmured.

"I'm tired." I drawled, turning away from the door and going to my bed in the hope that she would just leave me alone.

"So am I," she shouted.

"Excuse me?" I turned, finding her enraged and crying.

"I'm tired of you treating me like shit, Malfoy, just because I couldn't say it back to you." She cried.

"You make me sound like a child." I drawled sarcastically, feeling like the jerk that I was.

"That's because you are a child. You sit there and you mope. You treat me like I'm just some random person you'll never meet again!"

"It's called wishful thinking." I spat.

"Fuck you." She replied without missing a beat. "Fuck you and your stupid pride.

"Fuck _you_. Fuck you and your stupid life."

"You don't know anything about my life." She shouted.

"Then tell me! Oh please just tell me what makes the great Gwendolyn Hasting so much better than everyone else. Please enlighten me!" I yelled back, so furious at her but unable to explain it.

"GOD! You're the most selfish, snobbish, _prat_ that I have ever met in my entire life"

"Thank you." I rolled my eyes.

"You just sit there, high on your stupid throne, and assume that everything is about you. You sit there without even asking me _why _I couldn't say it back." She cried.

"Then why, Gwendolyn, _why_ couldn't you say _I love you too?" _My voice was low, more of a dare than a question. Doll would never shy away from a dare.

"Because I'm terrified." She screamed. "I'm so paralyzed with fear that I can't breathe. Draco, I can't fucking breathe. And whenever I think about talking to you about this I can't move. I'm broken, Drake. I'm broken, and I'm shattered, and there is no way that anyone could ever love me. But you do, and that terrifies me even more." I couldn't think of anything to say, so I just looked at her, and I mean really looked, at the girl I loved. Gwendolyn Hasting looked so innocent standing in front of me in pajama shorts and an old sweatshirt of mine. She looked terrified. She looked terrified of me. "I've only ever had one other boyfriend, Drake."

"Doll-" I started, hoping to apologize before she confessed what she seemed so scared to confess.

"Let me finish." She sighed, "I've only ever had one other boy friend. His name was James, and I was in love with him."

"I don't see how this is relevant" I groaned, not wanting to hear about her past conquests.

"Will you just listen to me?" she shouted, scaring me to death. "We dated all through fifth year and some of sixth. He said he loved me, and I thought that he did."

"Where is this going?" I asked, sensing that there was some deep revelation occurring.

"It was really great fifth year, and then he spent the summer with his dad." She began to tear up, "When he came back to school he was completely different. He got really drunk and angry, and a lot of the time I was the only one who could calm him down."

"Gwendolyn," I cautioned her, not wanting to know where this was going but still unable to stop her all the same.

"There were some nights that I couldn't calm him down, and" she breathed a shaky breath, "he would…hit me."

"What?" I whispered.

"He got mad about things like me spending time with Brian, or sleeping in the boy's dorm when Daphne was being awful. And he'd hit me. He said that he loved me Draco, and I said that I loved him and he hit me." She was sobbing now, "I'm so scared to love you, because I'm afraid of getting hurt again."

"Doll, I-"I couldn't find a way to finish.

"So now you know." She breathed, whipping her eyes and turning towards the door. "I think I'll go home tonight"

"Gwendolyn, wait!" I shouted, forcing her to turn and face me. "I would never, ever, hurt you. I love you."

Unable to stand any longer, she collapsed. Crying into her hands, I realized that I'd already hurt her more than I knew. I stepped towards her and picked her up, as I carried her to my bed she calmed.

"I swear to you, Gwendolyn Hasting," I murmured as I set her onto the mattress, "That I will never hurt you. No matter what happens, I will keep you safe. No one will ever hurt you again."

She looked up into my eyes with a look of trust and, dare I say it, love. Slowly, she brought her hand up to my cheek and kissed me gently. However, as soon as our lips touched something changed and the gentleness disappeared.

Soon her hands were in my hair, and mine in hers. We broke for air and I immediately went to work on her neck, eliciting a moan from her lips. "Draco," she sighed. I brought our lips together again, and felt her hands unbuttoning my shirt. For a moment I froze. "What?" she asked, suddenly so unsure of herself.

"We don't have to do this." I said although I wanted nothing more.

"I want to." She whispered, kissing me again with more fervor than before. As we broke apart and I brought her shirt past her head, she whispered the words I'd been desperately hoping she would say. "I love you Draco Malfoy." She sighed, and again brought her lips crashing down on mine.

As the night wore on, the only sounds were of us moving as one. Her voice brought me to a place I'd never been before. I've had sex before, lots of sex, but never in my life have I made love until that night on Christmas Eve.

_Merry Christmas_

**GHDM**

**Yay! So there was a bit more language than usual, but maybe you'll forgive me. Hope you all have a happy Easter, and if you aren't Christian or of any affiliation…eat chocolate anyway! All my love! **


	16. Chapter 16

"Draco," I whispered to the man beside me.

"Humph," He groaned.

"It's snowing."

As I gazed out the window across the grounds of Malfoy Manor, curled up with the man I loved, I could not think of a better moment for time to stop…but then again the world never stopped turning.

"Draco," I whispered again, turning to face him.

"Yeah," He groaned, still practically asleep.

"Let's go sledding." I smiled slyly, receiving a raised eyebrow.

"It's three in the morning." He said.

"It's snowing." I repeated myself. He opened his eyes to look at my giddy expression and sighed in defeat.

"Fine," he sighed, "we'll go sledding." I nearly shouted in triumph.

"I love you," I smiled, pecking him on the lips before shooting out of bed and gathering my clothes.

"Hey Doll," he called from his place still in bed, "You're beautiful."

I blushed. "Put some clothes on," I replied hoping to get away from his gaze.

"I think you like me better this way," he drawled sexily, forcing me to look anywhere else but at him for fear of showing how red my face had gotten.

"I like you better with pants on." I attempted.

"You are a big fat liar." He smirked as he pulled on a pair of pants.

"Am not." I sighed.

"Are too," he shouted, tackling me to the ground and tickling me senseless.

"Stop! Stop!" I shouted through my laughter. "I'm begging you."

"Admit that you're lying." He laughed, not ceasing his hilarious torture.

"Never," I shouted, receiving an even worse onslaught of laughter. "Fine! You win." I surrendered.

"Say it!" he chuckled, still not letting up.

"I like you better without pants on." I laughed, causing him to finally stop his cruel attack.

"Why, Gwendolyn, you dirty girl." He said. I stuck out my tongue in return.

"I'm going to get warm clothes. I'll meet you down stairs." I mocked, walking towards the door.

"Doll," he called out to me as I left, "I love you."

Winking I walked outside and towards my room.

The snow fell in huge flakes, coating the already white ground with a fresh layer of fluff. I shivered under my jacket, and pulled the ends of my hat over my ears again. "Cold?" Draco drawled from behind me, "We could go back to bed you know," He said as he put his arms around me to whisper in my ear, "Where it's warm."

"I'm fine." I smiled back at him, grabbing his hand in mine for the first time in a long time. "Let's sled."

He took me up a hill a little ways away from the house, pulling an old rickety sled behind us as we walked. We were silent for most of the way, and then I remembered something. "So Blaise is having this ball on New Year's Eve," I started.

"No, Blaise's mother is having a ball on New Year's eve." Draco corrected.

"Whatever, we're invited, and I'd like to go." I prompted him.

"Are you asking me to ask you to Blaise's mother's stupid party?" He chuckled to himself.

"So what if I am?" I blushed.

"You're not too good at subtle, luv." Draco laughed again; I stuck my tongue out at him. "Will you go to Blaise's mother's stupid ball with me?"

"Well when you put it like that," I swooned mockingly, "I would love to."

"I know." He replied.

"Someone's cocky," I smirked, letting go of his hand.

"Not cocky, just confident." He shrugged turning to look at me as I bent to the ground.

"A little too confident if you ask me." I continued smirking, picking up snow and molding it in my hands.

"Whoa, Doll," He threw his hands up in surrender, "You don't have to do this." He begged as my hand reared back to chuck the snow ball at his chest.

"Too late." I stuck my tongue out and ran, just in time too, for as soon as my back was to him I felt a big chunk of snow on the back of my coat. Screaming with laughter I bent to pick up more snow to throw back at him, only to receive a snow ball to the face.

"Oh my god, Doll, I'm so sorry. I should have been more careful." Draco fussed as he ran towards me. I remained still, my face stinging, but put a look of hurt on my face. "Are you okay?"

In reply, I smashed the snow I'd been holding in my hands on top of his naked head. "I win." I smiled, sticking my tongue out at him. He only laughed in reply. "Shall we sled?"

"If we must," Draco sighed jokingly. We finished our traipse up the hill in blissful silence

"Draco?" I asked shyly.

"Mhm," He replied absent mindedly.

"What so you think is going to happen to us? After school I mean."

"Well, I'll take over the family business and you'll be an actress. Hasn't that always been the plan?" He chucked to himself as if I was daft.

"No I mean, what's going to happen to _us_, as in you and me together?"

"What do you want to happen?" He asked, turning to face me.

"I don't want to live in your parent's mansion." I joked, making him laugh heartily.

"Okay, so we'll move out. Maybe we'll go to the city." He conceded. "But which city? That's the question." He sighed. "There's London of course, we've got a big firm uptown. Then there's Rome, a smaller firm, but a lovely city. Paris has the biggest firm, but the worst people. And I guess there's New York, but you wouldn't want to live there." He smiled at me.

"What?" I asked, not really sure where he was going.

"I mean, there's that huge firm with the big penthouse apartment off of Fifth Avenue, but you wouldn't want to live there. It's too crowded."

"You're joking!" I hit him playfully.

"Oh course I'm joking." He groaned, "I always thought that was the plan."

"What plan?" I asked, laughing at his antics. "All my plans were screwed by this dumb marriage."

"That's not what I heard an hour ago." Draco smirked, "I seem to recall you saying something along the lines of 'Oh drake, yes please'..."

"Stop!" I laughed as we reached the top of the hill.

"That's not what you were saying an hour ago," he drawled, only to receive a playful punch in the arm. "Seriously, Doll, I can work from anywhere. I just want you to be happy." He smiled, turning to face me with all joking aside.

"I love you." I said.

"I love you too." He whispered as he brought his lips to meet mine in a heartwarming kiss.

We stood there for much longer than necessary; just kissing for kissing's sake…and god was it great. "Drake," I sighed, as he brought his lips away from mine to attend to my neck.

"Shhhh," He replied, continuing his delicious assault.

"You said we could sled." I smirked.

"Busy," He said, bringing his lips back to mine and wrapping his arms around my waist.

"You promised." I broke the kiss, fixing him with a mock glare.

"Damnit woman, you ruin all my fun." He groaned.

"You'll survive." I smirked, positioning myself on the front of the sled with Draco sitting behind me.

"I might not, you know." He said seriously. "I've got quite the problem thanks to you."

"I can tell," I replied saucily before pushing off from our spot atop the hill and squealing with laughter all the way down. The snow was absolutely perfect for sledding: not too icy, but not too soft either, just so that it was packed and firm. As we careened down the slope something underneath the packed almost ice tossed us off the rickety old sled. Draco grabbed me in one of those holds you only hear about in movies or stories, and positioned me perfectly so that I fell on top of him with a quiet "oomph."

"You okay?" he asked, out of breath but still only concerned for me.

As I looked up into his impossibly grey eyes I felt that fairy tale kind of warmth at the pit of my stomach and in the base of my chest. "Merry Christmas, Draco." I replied.

"Merry Christmas, Gwendolyn." He smiled before leaning down to kiss me for what felt like the hundredth time that night and I felt what every girl dreams of feeling: loved.

_And damn does it feel good._

**GHDM**

She lay curled up against my side, hogging the covers, hair splayed out all over the pillows, and her legs entangled with mine. Six months ago I never would have allowed something like this to happen. I would have kicked her out after the first hour and been done with it all. But Gwendolyn Hasting had turned my life upside down and taken me on a crazy roller coaster of mad, stupid, bliss and it was wonderful. As she slept with her mouth slightly open and the softest of snores coming through it I couldn't help but let my fingers run through those absurd brown curls. They tangled, never quite making it through the knotted tendrils, but I could see Doll smiling in her sleep. From that smile I saw a bit of dried drool that was only endearing to me. She nuzzled closer to my side, knowingly or not I had no clue, throwing her leg across my body as if I were a pillow only there for warmth. It made me smile.

"Mmm," she moaned softly as my fingers danced across her spine, "quit it."

"It's late Doll, mother will question your whereabouts." I teased her.

"Who cares," Doll mumbled while burying her head into my chest.

"You'll miss breakfast," I tried again.

"I'll starve," she countered.

"But don't you want to open your presents?" I asked with a quirked eyebrow. She looked up at me with the face of a three year old.

"You got me a present?" she replied in a voice to match the face she was making.

"You'll have to get out of bed and see," I smirked, causing her to groan but slowly get out of bed.

"This better be good, Malfoy, I'm losing sleep over this." Doll reached for my quidditch jersey that was strewn on my floor. Last night after our midnight sleigh ride we'd both had a little trouble getting warm and somehow I'd been convinced that the only way to get warm was without anything on…okay I convinced her. But nonetheless the sheets were more than tangled by now and we were both wearing nothing. As she threw on my quidditch jersey from my first year as Slytherin seeker it fell amid thigh and god did it look good.

"It might just be me, but there's something about you in that jersey it just screams-"I began only to be cut off by my fiancé.

"I just got laid?" she replied.

"Exactly." I smirked again, gathering her up into my arms and placing a kiss on her lips, "Merry Christmas, Doll"

"Merry Christmas, Drake." She laughed.

"Do you trust me?" I asked.

"Yes," Doll smiled conspiratorially.

"Good." I smirked as I pulled a blindfold from behind my back and began to tie it around her eyes.

"What are you doing?" She laughed, graciously holding it against her eyes as I fastened the knot.

"It's a surprise," I replied, taking her hand and leading her down the hall.

"Is it jewelry?" She asked.

"You'll never guess," I laughed as we began to go down the stairs.

"So stairs, that means," she began.

"Trust me Gwendolyn, you'll never guess." With that I led her down the steps and outside, forgetting that it was December and we'd forgotten shoes.

"Shit, Drake this isn't funny." Doll shivered.

"It'll be one more second." I winced at the cold on my bare chest and wrapped Doll in my arms. "Now just stay calm," and as I said those words I apparated.

I sensed that familiar pull against my navel and waited for the dizziness to subside before letting my fiancé free. "Okay Draco Malfoy, where the hell am I?"

"Home," I murmured as I pulled the blindfold off to reveal her gift.

The penthouse apartment overlooked central park. It was furnished in the cool colors Gwendolyn has always seemed so fond of with bits of darkness to reflect my own tastes. The living room opened up to a spacious modern kitchen that was fully stocked with both food and a view to beat all views. As she walked around what was only the first part of the apartment tears streamed down her cheeks. Instantly I regretted this gift, knowing that I should have waited until we were married and that I shouldn't have furnished it. It was suddenly all wrong. Too lavish, and too un-Gwendolyn.

"I'm sorry," I started but was shushed instantly.

"You're ruining the moment." She whispered. She continued to look around hating it all.

"If you don't like it I can-"

"Will you just shut up?" She half yelled, "I love it."

"You do?" I asked in disbelief.

"It's beautiful." She relied.

"Oh thank Merlin, because Blaise told me to get you jewelry, but you already had my grandmother's ring and I never see you wear anything other than that. But then mother told me to take you to Paris for the evening, but you would have hated that and I didn't know what was going on with us. And then my father went on some tangent about women never appreciating anything that we men got them so I should just get you something you could return but I think he may have been talking about my mother. Then when I asked Teddy he said I should get you lingerie so I hit him. And then when I asked Snape he just stared at me like I was an idiot and told me to get out of his office. So then Brian told me to get you something that meant something to you or to us or whatever and I kept thinking about how scared you were of us being us and how it was going to ruin your life goals so I just found this place and talked to a friend of my mothers and-"

"DRACO!" Doll laughed, "I love it."

"This isn't it," I said, suddenly nervous again.

"You mean there's more?" She laughed.

"Come with me," I led her down a hallway lined with four doors; one leading to a guest room, another to my office, a third to our bedroom and the fourth mystery door that I'd created for Doll without any help. "So I did this for you."

"Obviously," Gwen laughed at her own joke but quieted as she saw my face.

"I mean this room, I had some help but it was mostly me. Sometimes you get really worked up about stuff you can't control and whenever that happens to me I always escape to quidditch. I just thought you might like to escape sometimes." I smiled nervously before opening the door to reveal a large room furnished with only a piano and a large muggle stereo system. The room was lined with mirrors and a wooden bar for her to practice on the hardwood floors I'd had installed by a man who designed dance studios. "The room is completely sound proofed." I added as she stepped through the threshold to her own sanctuary. On the wall where the huge Grand piano stood was a window floor to ceiling facing the park which was dusted in snow. Her eyes shone with what I thought were tears but might have been something more, something that I cannot describe. "Do you like it?" I asked, nervous one again.

"Like it?" She laughed, walking over to me. "I love it."

"Really?" I asked.

"Yeah," She reached up on her toes to kiss me. "So which door leads to the bedroom?" She whispered.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" I smirked as I leaned down to kiss her again, this time a little harder.

"We could just defile my studio right here," She murmured in a tone that alluded to something very dirty, "But it's new."

"So what will you give me if I show you our room?" I kind of growled. Suddenly her legs began to wrap around my waist and I hoisted her up so we were eye to eye.

"If you take me there you'll find out." She whispered into my ear, her hot breath tickling it, and if that hadn't turned me on enough she leaned closer to capture the lobe between her teeth. She continued to kiss down my neck slowly as I walked over to our bedroom. She barely glanced around as I opened the door and laid her on the bed. "I think I'm in love with you Draco Malfoy." She laughed as I began to kiss her shoulder.

"I hate to tell you love, but the cat's already been let out of the bag." I smirked; looking into her gorgeous blue eyes that shone with something I could only assume was love.

"Damn, and here I thought it was being all mysterious." She whispered before pulling me in for another crushing kiss.

An hour later as I lay on my back in our bed alone I couldn't help but laugh to myself. My stupid plan had worked; even though it was received sooner than I'd planned I was glad that I'd given it. I was tired and sore from our late night/ early morning activities, yet Gwendolyn Hasting was still going strong. I could hear her in the kitchen singing Christmas carols and fixing some sort of delicious smelling breakfast for the two of us. I stood slowly, stretching my sore muscles, and walked over to my dresser where I'd had an elf place some clothes. After pulling on a warm pair of pants and a shirt, I went to meet my fiancé in the kitchen.

"Dashing through the snow, in a one horse open sleigh, o'er the hills we go laughing all the way!" She sang as she flipped French toast on the stove. "Bells on bob tails ring, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah,"

"You mean you don't know the words to that part?" I laughed as she handed me a plate of warm French toast and stuck out her tongue.

"What fun it is to ride and sing a SLEIGHING SONG TONIGHT!" She yelled the last part at the top of her lungs before dissolving into a fit of laughter that was only made funnier by the fact that her cheek had flour on it.

"Luv, are you alright?" I asked.

"SANTA'S BEEN HERE!" She shouted at me while pointing over to a tree that had not been there an hour ago.

"Where'd that come from?" I asked.

"You seem to forget, Draco Malfoy, that I am a witch!" She mocked me, sticking out her tongue again.

"Never," I replied smoothly, stuffing more of her delicious food into my mouth.

"Is it good?" She asked nervously, making me laugh.

"Awful," I winked, stuffing more of it into my mouth. She swatted me on the arm.

"Well someone had a tough act to follow!" Doll sighed, "You bought me a freaking apartment! What can I do to top that?"

"It's not a competition luv," I laughed.

"I know, but still. You can't just give a girl a house on Christmas! What's she supposed to get you?!" She groaned.

"I could take it back if you'd like," I teased.

"Not funny." She replied seriously.

"Sorry,"

"Just tell me if you hate it okay," Doll said as she walked over to the tree to retrieve a box that had been carefully wrapped. "It's kind of silly, but then again I hadn't expected a freaking HOUSE!"

"Apartment," I corrected nonchalantly.

"It's a house Drake, let's face it."

"Fine it's a house, but you said it first!" I agreed smiling to remind her that was just joking.

"So here," She handed me the box. I took it slowly and began to shake it trying to guess what it was, "Oh just open the damn thing!"

I laughed but began to rip the package open. It was a picture frame with our names engraved on it, the ones only we called each other: Drake & Doll it read at the top. In the middle was a picture of the two of us kissing that had been taken god knows when. Surrounding it were pictures of Crab and Goyle looking thug like, Blaise smiling toothily with Brian standing next to him, the ice cream shop in Diagon Alley, a dark alley I thought I should have recognized, of a window at my parents manor, of Luigi's pizza shop in London, of the door to Gwen's room at the manor, of Flourish and Bott's and finally the most confusing of all, a picture of Pansy Parkinson looking bright red and angry with a mustache drawn on her face. I was really confused.

"You remember our first time together, before school started." Doll rushed in, sensing my confusion, "How every time we tried to kiss we got interrupted or something happened?" I began to nod my head, smiling, finally understanding what this was. "I told you it was silly."

I laughed, looking at the frame made me smile, and remember how much time it took to get that kiss, that one perfect kiss. "It's perfect."

"Really?" Doll asked, so unsure of herself.

"Really," I replied "And I know just where to put it." The frame was a decent size, but with a slight enlarging charm it fit perfectly about our fire place. I hung it with a sticking charm and stood back to admire it with the woman I loved.

"It looks good there." She smiled slowly, stepping closer allowing me to pull her in.

"I like what you've done with Pansy." I smirked; noticing how the moustache wasn't the only thin Doll had added to her face, she also sported moles and heinous eyebrows.

"Sorry," She laughed, "I couldn't help it."

"You forgot horns." I drawled.

"What?" She asked, looking up at me.

"You know, horns," I mimicked the horns of a devil making her laugh.

"I love you." She beamed.

"And I love you," I replied, placing a kiss on her forehead.

"Merry Christmas Drake."

"Merry Christmas, luv." I smiled pulling her to my chest in an embrace that I would never have given to another human being six months ago, but was now the only thing I wished to do.

_And damn, did it feel good._

**GHDM**


End file.
